


All To Blame

by AvalonBay



Series: Avalon Series [1]
Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gangs, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-01 12:06:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 201,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10921479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvalonBay/pseuds/AvalonBay
Summary: Full Summary Inside: -First in Avalon series-. From the moment Avalon Mitchell met the Power Rangers, she knew what was important: family, friends, and, love...but she's tormented by pain and misery. Being part of the street gang, The Vipers, makes things harder for Avalon as she is constantly pulled in two directions though she's all to blame. Is it true when they say that there's strength in numbers?





	1. The Beginning of The End

**Author's Note:**

> Keep in mind this story was originally posted on FFN back in 2013. I'm aware there are edits that need to be done as I haven't had much time to go back and fix things. Also, I'm aware that at the beginning Avalon comes across as a mary-sue, but she tones down as the story goes on. I hope you enjoy it.

**Full Summary:** She's always been a loner; always taking care of herself, and she wasn't afraid of anything. But her past and current mistakes makes things hard for her when she transfers to Angel Grove High. Now she has to deal with working on a team along with keeping her secrets from them, knowing that if she is found out, her whole life would fall apart. Is it true when they say that there's strength in numbers? Or is it better to go alone? From the moment Avalon Mitchell met the other Power Rangers, she knew what was important: family, friendship, and, love...but she's tormented by pain and misery. Her past and current mistakes makes are still screwing things up for her as she tries to figure out how to leave it all behind. Should she reveal everything and hope that her friends stick around? Or should she alone? The pressures of good vs. evil has never been so strong and it'll take all of the power of the rangers to see which side will win. They'll need each other to get through it all.

_Tommy/Kim, Billy/Trini, a little bit of Jason/Avalon_

* * *

 

**Chapter 01**

* * *

"Hey Trini, Hey Billy, how was your guys' weekend?" Kimberly Hart asked as she hurried over to her friends Monday morning. With a bright smile on her face, she clutched her books to her chest, practically skipping over to them. They were just hanging out before school starts, taking time at their lockers to catch up. As usual, the Monday morning blues never got to Kimberly's passionate personality.

"It was good." Trini said. She smiled and nodded, pulling some of her hair behind her ear. "My parents and I were able to see some relatives that we haven't seen in so long."

"That's so cool, Trini." Kimberly grinned. "You must have been so excited."

"I was until I realized that they were going to be all squeezed into our house," Trini said with a light laugh. "It was fun though." She turned to Billy. "How was your weekend? Were you working on that science project?"

"Definitely," Billy said. He finished pulling his books out of his locker and shut the door. "It's in the preliminary stages so far." He couldn't stop the proud smile that wormed its way onto his face. "But by the time I'm done, it's sure to be the newest invention that can change all of mankind."

"You mean like these?" Kimberly smiled back, holding out her communicator. She looked around to be sure that no one would notice before resting her hand on Billy's shoulder. "I think that's great, Billy. You always do such amazing things with your projects."

"Thank you."

"What's going on party people?" Zack announced his presence as he appeared behind the group of friends. Jason and Tommy were with him as well, though they weren't as vocal as Zack was. Smiles and nods were the only greetings they got from the red and white rangers. "So, Ernie's after school? I'm really going to need to cram for this History test that's coming up."

"When are you not, Zack?" Jason teased, lightly hitting his friend on the shoulder. "If you spent half as much time as you do dancing and flirting with Angela, then you wouldn't have a problem with your schoolwork."

"Thanks Dad." Zack rolled his eyes.

"He does have a point though," Tommy commented. "School work first and then fun later." He put his arm around Kimberly's shoulders. "If you keep up that attitude in life, you'll definitely get far."

"And then I'll die of boredom," Zack countered causing the group of friends to laugh. "C'mon, we should get to class." The group then turned on their heel and started to walk down the hall to their class. He stopped when he noticed someone unfamiliar down the hallway at their locker. "Hey, have you guys ever seen her around before?"

The others turned to see where he was pointing and spotted a girl with dark brown hair at her locker. She was wearing a black leather jacket over a white cami that showed some of her stomach and burnt orange shorts as well as black boots. On her face was an expression that was a mixture of anxiety and irritation as she watched students walk back and forth through the hallway. She then turned back to her locker, appearing to be looking for something.

"I think she's new," Trini said as she studied her. "I don't think I've seen her around before."

"She's probably a transfer if she's here this late in the school year," Billy added.

"Well, being the new kid is never easy," Kimberly said.

She looked at Tommy for confirmation and he nodded in agreement. It wasn't that long ago that Tommy had first started at Angel Grove High School and now he was one of the most well-known guys in school. It helped that he was just as athletic and good at martial arts that Jason was.

Kimberly then beamed at her friends, a tell-tale sign that she was up to something. "Let's go introduce ourselves." She then walked over to the girl and stopped by her locker. "Hi, are you new here?"

"You haven't seen me around, so I guess so," the girl replied, briefly looking away from her locker to look at Kimberly. Her brown eyes briefly looked the pink ranger up and down before returning to her locker. Letting out a short sigh, she continued to search through the books that have been shoved inside.

"Well, I'm Kimberly," Kimberly placed a hand on her chest before turning and pointing behind her. "And these are my friends Trini, Billy, Jason, Zack, and Tommy." Each of them gave a smile and wave as their name had been called.

"Avalon." She closed her locker and picked up her backpack off of the ground. Using her right hand, she pushed her hair off of her shoulders, the light bouncing off of a silver pinky ring. "Nice to meet you, I guess."

"Oh, that's such a cool name," Trini said.

"But so long, do you have a nickname or something?" Zack asked. He put a finger to his chin as he started to think about it. "Avatar? Av? Avie? Lonnie?"

Avalon's eyes flashed. "No, it'sjust Avalon."

"Did you just move to Angel Grove?" Tommy asked.

Avalon hesitated then shook her head. "No, I've lived here for a while," she said. "I just transferred here. I was homeschooled and my parents thought that my social skills weren't up to par so here I am." She shrugged.

"I couldn't help but notice that you have an accent," Jason spoke up. "Is it British?"

"Australian, actually," Avalon corrected him. "I was born and raised in Australia, and then we moved here a couple of years ago." She looked at her watch. "I have to go." She hitched her backpack up her shoulder before she moved to walk around the group.

"We could show you around," Jason offered. He nodded over at Tommy. "We know that being new can be hard." He studied Avalon. "It'll be good to know that you have some friends to help you. What are you looking for? Your first class or the administration office?"

Avalon opened her mouth to reply and the warning bell went off. She then closed her mouth, her eyebrows rising. "The bathroom, actually," she replied before stepping around them and walking down the hallway, her boots clumping along the ground as she went.

"She seems nice," Zack said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"She's new," Trini defended her. "It can't be easy, especially if she was homeschooled first." She held out her arm. "We should get going or we're going to be late.

"And I'm sure that Zack can't be late or he'll get _another_ detention," Kimberly teased Zack as the group walked off towards their first class. Zack gave a monotone laugh in reply.

"Watch it short-stuff, I can still get a better grade than you in Math," Zack teased back. He laughed as he followed his friends into the classroom.

* * *

 

Avalon Mitchell smiled to herself as the final bell of the day rang.

She got out of her seat and hurried to her locket to grab her backpack and to get the books that she would need for homework that night. She moved as fast as she could, hoping that she wouldn't be stopped by anyone. It wasn't that she wasn't happy that people actually took the time to try and make her feel welcome; it was that they were slowing her down. She had been late to her classes all day because someone would come up and try to help her. Kimberly appeared to be in everyone one of her classes as well as Billy, and everyone else had a slightly different schedule than hers, but would try to help her get to class anyway. At lunch, she managed to sit by herself; it gave her time to think about what she had to do after school that day. If she was even one second late, it would just cause a lot of problems.

Avalon pulled a skateboard out of her locker and closed the door shut with a sharp push of her hip. She then hurried down the hallways, pushing her way through the crowd that blocked the entrance to the school and hurried down the steps. Miss timing her jump down the last step, she stumbled and crashed into someone, causing them to drop their backpacks.

"Hey, dweeb, why don't you watch where you're going?" he demanded.

"Yeah, why don't you watch where he's going?" the skinny guy next to him agreed with a nod and a slight sneer.

"Whatever." Avalon quickly grabbed the book bags and shoved them into the guys' chests. She then turned and grabbed onto her own stuff and picked them up. "I don't have time for this, I'm in a hurry." She placed her skateboard on the ground and pushed off with her left foot, going as fast as she could. She kept going until she reached a nearby school. As she slowed to a stop and picked up her board, a crowd of little kids raced by her; yelling to their friends, waving to each other, and jumping into their cars. Avalon looked around until she spotted a familiar face. "Bailey!" She called.

A little girl, about the age of eleven hurried over to Avalon, her brown ponytail bobbing behind her. "Hey Av," she greeted as she stopped in front of her pushing her glasses up her freckled nose. "How was school today?"

"Fine, I guess." Avalon shrugged, bending down to pick up her skateboard and tucked it under her arm. She held out her free hand to take Bailey's backpack. "How about you?"

"Good." Bailey smiled and nodded. "A girl already invited me to her house this weekend," she replied as the two started to walk down the street in the opposite direction of Angel Grove High. "And," her nose wrinkled. "This boy wouldn't stop picking on me. The only realistic explanation is that he likes me. But I don't have time for boys right now."

"Bay, you're eleven," Avalon pointed out.

"So?" Bailey stuck her nose in the air stubbornly. "I have to focus on my studies _not_ boys." She turned her head and peered at Avalon. "Did you make any new friends today? I know that Mum always said that it was hard for you, but-"

"No, I didn't make any new friends today," Avalon cut in, rolling her eyes at her little sister. "I don't need any more friends than I do now." She looked at her watch. "Speaking of, we got to get you home or I'm going to be late meeting them." She ignored Bailey's heavy, impatient sigh, but couldn't ignore her stare. "What? Bay, they're not bad."

"You keep getting in trouble when they're around," Bailey pointed out. The two stopped at a cross-walk, waiting for the traffic to lighten up before they could safely get across. "Even a baby could figure out that they're bad news." She pushed her glasses up her nose once more, looking up when she heard a car honk its horn. Avalon followed Bailey's gaze and spotted Kimberly in a bright pink corvette, waving at Avalon as she drove by. "Who was that?"

"You know how whenever you are new to school there's always that one person that tries very hard to make you feel welcome?" Avalon asked. She looked both ways before crossing the street with her sister at her side. "This time there were six of them. They wouldn't leave me alone all day."

Bailey let out an even bigger sigh than before. "You're such a boofhead, Av."

"Thanks, Bay, love you too." Avalon replied. The two continued waking until they reached an apartment complex. Avalon then stopped and handed Bailey her backpack. "Alright, I should be back by seven at the latest. Don't answer the door for anyone, if the phone rings, just say I'm asleep. If you need me, you can just page me and I'll get to a phone as soon as possible. Do your homework and I'll bring home something for dinner."

"I know what to do by now Av, I'm not a baby," Bailey rolled her eyes. She then looked concerned for her sister. "Stay safe, aright?"

"Promise." Avalon held out her pinky finger, the ring flashing in the light. Bailey gave a small smile and hooked her pinky with her sister's before running into the apartment complex. Avalon then turned on her heel, fixing the collar to her leather jacket and started to walk off again. She walked for about twenty minutes, looking over her shoulder every now and then, being sure not to be followed, before ducking down into an alleyway.

Avalon walked over to the group of teenagers that were standing in a circle and talking and laughing with each other. They were all wearing a lot of black; on each of their hands were a silver ring. The tallest guy, who had shaggy blonde hair and green eyes turned, noticing Avalon coming their way. He smiled and nodded at her before she joined their group. "Hey Pinky, how's it going?" he asked.

"Not bad," Avalon replied, nodding over to everyone else in the group. "School was boring as usual." She held up her hands. "Don't ask."

"I won't," The guy replied. His green eyes flashed as he looked behind her. "No one followed you?"

"I think I know what I'm doing at this point, Chase," Avalon cocked her right eyebrows. "No, no one followed me. I'm not that much of a dill." She then wrinkled her nose. "Which reminds me, weren't you the one that told us that we should only do these things in the cover of night?"

"So we're running low on cash," A boy with black hair said carelessly. "We can't wait that much longer."

"Lance is right," Chase agreed. "We're running low on cash and the place that we scoped out is practically deserted at this time." He looked around at the group once more and nodded. "Let's get going." Avalon shoved her hands into her shorts pockets and went with the group as they walked out of the alleyway.

* * *

 

"Aye-yi-yi-yi-yi! Zordon, are you sure that she's the one that we need to help us?" Alpha 5 continued to watch a picture of Avalon on the viewing globe as she walked along with her friends. Unlike the smile that was on her face when she was with her sister, Avalon now had a look of anxiety and stern determination on her face. "You know what they're going to do!"

"Yes, Alpha, but she has shown many times that she is the power force that we need," Zordon replied. "We have been watching her for a while now and all of the bad decisions that she makes is heavily outweighed by the good things that she has done for herself and for her sister."

"But what if she doesn't make the right decision with her powers?" Alpha continued to worry. He turned from the viewing globe and turned back to Zordon, moving his hands to his hips. "Can we really take that risk?"

"The only risk that we're taking at this point is whether or not this will really help in the defeat of Rita and Lord Zedd," Zordon stuck but his decision. At that moment, a warning signal went off in the command center as lights began to flash. Zordon and Alpha turned their attention back to the viewing globe where the image of Z-Putties closing in on Avalon and her friends as they started to cross through the park.

"Aye-yi-yi-yi-yi! We need to alert the Power Rangers!" Alpha cried.

"Not yet, Alpha, we need to determine whether or not Avalon will rise to the occasion," Zordon commanded.

"Ok, the first house that we're going to hit, you need to be sure to go around the back and-"Chase let out a cry and jumped backwards when a Z-Putty jumped in front of him, waving his arms around. "What is that thing?"

"Don't tell me you're scared, Chase," Lance laughed loudly.

"I wouldn't be laughing Lance," Avalon said, taking a step back. "These guys look fucking crazy." She took another step back and stumbled, falling to the ground. She looked up as the Z-Putties turned and started to advance towards her. "Of all the times I have to be clumsy," she muttered under her breath, watching as the Z-Putties got closer to her, forming a circle around her. "Guys, I could use a little help here!" She called.

But between the waving arms and legs, Avalon could see Chase, Lance, and the rest of the group running away as fast as they could. Avalon gritted her teeth before getting to her feet, moving her hands by her face. "Boofheads." She turned her attention to the putties. "Alright, let's see what this street fighting has taught you" she said under her breath. A Z-Putty jumped in front of her and Avalon ducked as it swung towards her face. Avalon popped back to her feet and punched the Z-Putty right in the face. She let out a cry, waving the pain off of her hand before she backed up and aimed a kick towards another Z-Putty.

The Z-Putties continued to attack her, no matter how hard she fought back. Due to her lack of actual training in fighting, she fought with impulse rather than judgment; her punches and kicks came from what seemed like would be a good idea, wild and carefree rather than thought out and put together. It worked for her, at first, but then the Z-Putties had caught on and managed to hit her in the back and the face, knocking her to the ground a few times. Each time, she would get back to her feet and continue fighting, her frustration starting to blind her. It was one of her wild swings, her arms practically wind-milled, that she managed to hit one of the Z-Putties in the middle of its chest.

"Wha?" Avalon lowered her arms slightly, watching as the Z-Putty crumbled and disappeared right before her eyes. Her eyebrows rose and then a slow, smirk slid onto her face. "So that's what gets rid of these blokes, huh?" She crouched slightly, resting her weight on the balls of her feet. "Time to get rid of these clowns!"

Avalon jumped forward and sent a roundhouse kick to a Z-Putty's chest. She didn't wait to watch the putty disintegrate before she turned to attack the others. They seemed to have noticed that she had been able to destroy the other putties for they had started to back away from Avalon in obvious distress. She back peddled and sent her boot into another Z-Putty's chest. As she turned around to attack the others, she was hit in the face and sent sprawling to the ground. Avalon blocked her face by crossing her arms as a Z-Putty tried to attack her again; she pushed the putty back and did a kick-up back to her feet before sending her elbow into the Z-Putty's chest. She then turned to the remaining Z-Putty and charged towards it, running at full speed. She tackled the Z-Putty to the ground and punched both of her fists into the Z-Putty's chest, causing it to disintegrate out from underneath her.

Avalon rested her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"What was that about?"

All of a sudden, the ground started to shake underneath her.

"What now?" Avalon raised a hand to her head, feeling a little light-headed, and then let out a cry as she was suddenly lifted off of the ground and into the sky in a bright orange energy glow.

...

..

.

"Avalon, are you all right?"

Avalon opened her eyes, she hadn't realized that she had closed them, and slowly took in her surroundings. She was lying on her back on the floor, looking up t the ceiling. Around her she could hear beeps and whistles from machinery and could see flashing lights from machines that she had never seen before in her life. She sat up and quickly backed away when she noticed the robot that had been standing next to her. Angry, she got to her feet.

"Look, I don't know how I got here, but I'm letting you know now that you'll regret it if you tell anyone you saw me!" She spat.

"Avalon, calm down we're on your side," Alpha pleaded with her, his hands outstretched towards her.

"Who's we?" Avalon took another step back, her eyes narrowed. "How the fuck did I get here?"

"We teleported you here after your fight against the Z-Putties," Zordon said, his voice causing Avalon to turn around so fast that her brown hair whipped around and smacked her in the face.

"Z-Putties?" Avalon repeated. Her brown eyes rolled once before she nodded. "Right, those freakish clay things that attacked me." She then seemed to realize that she was talking to a floating head, for she rested her hand flat on her forehead, the other was sitting on her hip. "I must have gotten hit in the head or knocked out or something."

"No, Avalon, we have brought you here because we need your help," Zordon said firmly. Avalon turned her head up to him, listening curiously. "There is an evil witch out here, intent on taking over the world named Rita Repulsa. Alongside her is the evil monster Lord Zedd. Together the two of them have been sending monsters down to Earth in hopes to take over the world. But we have had some help in the form of the Power Rangers to combat their evil plot."

"Right." Avalon crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow her upper lip curling at the same time. "So what does this have to do with me? I mean, you already said that you had the Power Rangers to help you, mate."

"The six rangers that we have already are not enough to defeat the combined powers of Rita and Zedd. Avalon, you will be given extraordinary powers by a dinosaur," Zordon explained patiently. Avalon opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when something flashed in front of her. She looked down to see what looked like a belt buckle sitting on the front of her belt. She picked it up and turned it around, her eyebrows lowering. "What's this?

"That is your Power Morpher; when you're in Danger, you raise it to the sky and call out the name of your dinosaur and you will morph into a Power Ranger." Zordon continued. He seemed to be ignoring Avalon's attitude with the whole thing. He could see Alpha's distress as the conversation went on, but he knew what he was doing. This girl had been chosen for a reason.

Avalon snorted as she replaced the morpher to her belt. "Sorry, mate, but it sounds like something out of a comic book." She shook her head and looked around again. "A surefire sign that I'm dreaming."

"Zordon, she doesn't believe!" Alpha cried, his hands going to his head. "Are you sure about this? The other rangers need help an we need someone that they can completely depend on!"

"This rust bucket is right," Avalon agreed, nodding over to Alpha. He turned to her and while he didn't have a face, she could tell that she had offended him. "No offense" she added quickly before turning back to Zordon. "This is just to weird...it doesn't happen to normal people." She then shook her head, looking down at her morpher once more. "Alright, so if this whole thing is real...what's my dinosaur?"

"Avalon, Impulsive and Caring, you shall command the Stegosaurus Dinozord," Zordon replied.

Avalon's right eyebrow lowered as she studied her feet. She was taking everything in...the plan with her friends, being attacked by the putties, then somehow being transported to this place and being told that she was going to have powers that would help them save the world. She shook her head as she looked up at Zordon again. _There's no way that this is real. I must have been knocked out when we hit that house or something._ She pushed her hair out of her face and then froze when she remembered. Her friends had abandoned her...what if Bailey was trying to get a hold of her? She needed to get home!

"I gotta make sure that Bailey's OK," she said out loud, more to herself than to Zordon and Alpha. She turned and started to walk out of the command center, but then stopped and turned around. "Hang on a tick, how did you even know where I was to get me here?"

"With the viewing globe," Alpha replied, pointing to the glass globe that was sitting at the side of the room. "We can see when the other Rangers are in trouble or when the Earth is being attacked. We saw that you were being attacked by the Z-Putties and watched as you fought them off. Zordon was sure that you were the one that we needed and teleported you here."

"Right," Avalon said after a second. "Could you teleport me home then? Or something?"

"Your morpher has the ability to teleport you wherever you need to go," Zordon instructed. Avalon nodded and made a face of confusion as she moved her hands to her belt, trying to figure out how to get back home to her sister. "You may not believe in the power that you have, but Alpha and I know that you are what can help the rangers stop Rita and Zedd."

Avalon looked up at Zordon once more before she teleported out of the command center in a flash of orange light.

"Do you really believe that she can help us?" Alpha asked, turning back to Zordon.

"Yes, Alpha, I do, whether she believes in herself or not, she can do this."

 


	2. Misery Loves Company

**Chapter 02**

* * *

 

"So, Tommy, how come you haven't asked Kim to go to the dance yet?" Zack asked, leaning forward against the table and passing a smoothie back and forth between his hands. He quickly took a sip before looking up at Tommy and giving him a hard look. "She's been waiting for you to ask her, man."

"Zack, the dance isn't until next month," Tommy pointed out, leaning back in his seat.

The two of them were at the Youth Center, waiting for Jason, Billy, Kimberly, and Trini to arrive. Much like they did every day, they hung out at the youth center after school to hang out with each other, to work on their gymnastics, to work out, or in Jason's case, to teach a martial arts class to some little kids.

"So? Girls are highly in tune with this sort of thing," Zack replied. He gave a half smile. "They have to know who they're going with, what color dress they're wearing, and what kind of shoes and purse to get to go along with the dress they're wearing. And they have to know all of that two weeks before the dance at the _latest_."

Tommy smirked. "And how is it that you know that?"

"Because I'm in tune with my feminine side," Zack laughed to himself before reaching out and lightly hitting Tommy on the arm. "Come on, man, why haven't you asked yet?"

"Well, I mean, I know that we're already dating," Tommy said slowly. "I'm just not sure-"

"Why she wants to go out with you?" Zack broke in with a grin. He frowned when he noticed the serious look on Tommy's face. "I was just kidding. What's wrong? What's going on?"

"I just don't know _how_ to ask her," Tommy replied. "I mean-" he licked his lips. "I know that girls are always expecting these…cute ways of being asked, rather than just going up to her and asking her and I don't really know how to do that."

"Oh, a case of the nerves." Zack nodded empathetically. "Don't worry, we've all been there. If you want my advice, I say just go with the flow. Wait until the timing is perfect and then go ahead and ask her to go to the dance with you. She's already dating you, so I don't think that she'll ever say no."

"Yeah, thanks," Tommy nodded before taking a large sip of his own smoothie. He sat up straight when he noticed the others had walked through the doorway of the youth center. "Do you mind not mentioning this to anyone else?" He asked.

"Secret's safe with me," Zack replied with a wink, leaning back in his chair as well. He looked up as Jason, Kimberly, Trini, and Billy pulled out some more chairs and sat down with them. "Running a little late today?"

"Oh, we were just talking to some of the teachers to get their ideas of what to do for homecoming next month," Kimberly said as he placed her backpack on the ground and leaned forward, resting her crossed arms onto the table. "I'm so excited for spirit week and the dance and everything. It should be so much fun."

Zack raised an eyebrow a he looked over at Tommy. Tommy silently gave him a warning look in reply.

"So far we've come up with some of the games that are going to be played," Trini added with a nod. "Like tug of war, the hula-hoop game, seeing which grade can cheer the loudest." She smiled warmly as she looked around at all of her friends. "There's always so much more that we can come up with."

"And there're the games that we have planned for the younger kids from the elementary and middle schools," Jason chimed in. "Just so they can feel like they're being involved too."

"The satisfaction rate of this year's spirit week and homecoming should greatly exceed those numbers that were projected last year," Billy concluded.

"I'll take your word for it," Zack laughed.

"He means that it should be a bigger success than last year's," Trini translated for him.

"That I got," Zack pointed at Trini before leaning over and looking at Billy. "Now how come you can't just speak in English like that? It would be so much easier than having Trini parrot you all the time." Zack, Jason, Billy, and Tommy laughed as Kimberly and Trini tossed balled up napkins at him.

Tommy's laughter faded and his groan alerted his friends over towards the doorway to the youth center. Avalon had entered, looking around and it seemed that Bulk and Skull were ready to get started on bugging her. When she had walked in Tommy had noticed that Bulk had nudged Skull on the arm and pointed over at her as she slowly continued to walk inside, her eyes scanning the place, as if she were looking for someone.

"They can't give it a rest of a day?" Kimberly asked, rolling her eyes.

"Apparently not," Jason agreed as he stood up, pushing his chair into the table. "She's probably an easy target for them, being the new kid and all." He held up a hand before walking over to Bulk and Skull.

"You're the one that bumped into me yesterday," Bulk accused, blocking Avalon's path. She merely looked him up and down. "I don't remember getting an apology for it."

"Sorry." Avalon shrugged as she shoved her hands into her leather jacket pockets. "It was kind of hard to miss you." She tilted her head and looked up at him. "And I did remember to apologize. Clearly, unlike you, I actually have manners."

Skull laughed out loud, and a sharp look from Bulk caused him to immediately shut up. "Do you know who this is?" Skull said, pointing over at Bulk, who had a proud smile on his face. "This is Bulky, the toughest guy around here."

"Oh, really?" Avalon looked interested as she straightened herself from her slouching position. "Could you be my bodyguard then? There are so many sticky beaks around here that don't get the idea of personal space." Bulk chucked as he looked down at her.

"Excuse me." Jason tapped Bulk on the arm, getting his, Skull's, and Avalon's attention. "Is this guy bothering you?"

"Do you have a problem, dweeb?" Bulk asked, turning his attention to Jason. "I was talking here."

"Yeah, he was talking here," Skull parroted. "So why don't you just butt out, dweeb."

"I'm fine." Avalon held up her hands and waved them slightly, getting everyone's attention. "No one's bothering me." Her eyes moved over the three boys. "Much," she started to walk around Jason. "Thanks for the help, Rudolph, but I don't need it."

"Rudolph?" Skull repeated and then started to laugh hysterically. Jason turned and raised an eyebrow at Skull and he immediately stopped laughing. He patted Bulk on the arm and started to back away. "Let's get out of here, Bulk, I'm sure that there's something else that we can do to entertain ourselves."

"Whatever." Bulk shrugged and started to leave. He pointed over at Jason. "Just don't but into my conversations again, or you'll regret it."

Jason didn't take the threat seriously as he started to walk back to the table that he and his friends were sitting at. He caught up to Avalon as they neared the table. "Don't worry about Bulk and Skull," he said to her. "Combined, they don't really have the brain power to be the slightest bit intimidating."

Avalon huffed and stopped sharply, causing Jason to almost walk right into her. She turned around and narrowed her eyes into a glare, her brown eyes flashing with annoyance. "I just told you, I don't need your help." She placed her hands on her hips. "Why is it so hard for you to take 'no' for an answer?"

Jason shrugged. "You're new here, so I thought that you could use some friends."

"Correction, I _transferred_ here," Avalon said. "I've been in Angel Grove for three years now. I already have some friends. Some of which," she pointed over her shoulder to the group that was sitting around a table at the back of the youth center. "Are over there." She turned back to Jason. "Now, will you please-"

"Salutations, Avalon!"

Avalon slowly turned to Kimberly, Zack, Trini, Tommy, and Billy. It was Billy that had spoke to her. Trini must have noticed the confused look on Avalon's face, as she sat up straight. "He said 'hello'," she translated for him.

"Hey," Avalon gave a short, sarcastic wave as Jason moved to go sit back down.

"How was the second day of classes for you?" Tommy asked her. "I was new not too long ago, so I knew that coming to a new place can be hard."

"It was fine," Avalon said shortly. She shrugged, pushing her hair behind her ears. "Not that different from any of my other schools. Just the lockers aren't outside and I don't have to wear a uniform."

"What was it like?" Kimberly asked, wrinkling her nose slightly. "If I had to wear a uniform, I swear I would die."

"It wasn't that bad," Avalon said flatly. "That way I didn't have to worry about taking forever to choose what I was going to wear in the morning. It gave a lot more time for me and Bailey to-"She immediately stopped herself, looking like she was annoyed that she had said too much.

"Who's Bailey?" Zack asked kindly.

"No one," Avalon said quickly. She looked at her feet. "Look, my friends are over there and-"She stopped when she heard a strange beeping sound, not noticing that the others had stiffened as soon as they heard the sound. "What was that?"

"Must have been a beeper," Tommy said quickly, widening his eyes over at his friends, silently warning them not to say anything. They all stayed silent, either nodding in agreement or acting like they didn't hear anything in the slightest.

"Right," Avalon turned and walked over to her friends, sitting down at the table.

Tommy waited to be sure that no one was watching them before he lifted a hand, slowly motioning for the others to follow him. He looked over his shoulders before he led the group behind a corner of the Youth Center. He waited for a few people to pass by before bringing his communicator up to his mouth.

"Go ahead, Zordon."

"Rangers, Rita and Zedd have sent out a group of putties along with the Bonbon Bomber monster in the park."

"We're on our way." Tommy lowered his communicator from his mouth and looked over at his friends with a nod. They nodded back at him and he faced forward as they simultaneously put their hands behind their backs. "It's morphin' time! Tiger Zord!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber Tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

* * *

 

"All kids love candy, so why don't you try some?" The Bonbon Bomber was a monster that was made entirely of candy.

To be specific, it was made of jawbreakers and it had arms and legs sticking out of it. Where its mouth should be was what looked like a cannon. The Bonbon Bomber shot out a barrage of balls of candy that exploded on impact when it hit the ground. Kids were screaming as parents ran to grab their sons and daughters and rush them to safety.

"Everybody get out of here," Trini helped push some of the parents out of the way. "We can handle this."

"You guys go for the putties," Tommy instructed, looking at Zack, Trini, Kimberly, and Billy. He then turned to Jason and nodded. "We'll take care of the Bonbon Bomber."

"Right!" Zack, Trini, Kimberly, and Billy chorused before running forward and started to attack the Z-Putties.

Jason and Tommy turned and started to attack the Bonbon Bomber. They quickly found that trying to attack it at close range didn't work, as he would easily turn his canon towards them and shoot candy out towards them. Tommy and Jason flipped backwards out of the way and hurried in to attack at close range once more. They managed to hit the Bonbon Bomber with a roundhouse kick, knocking it to the ground. But as he fell, it managed to shoot more candy out and hit the two of them in the chest, causing them to fall back onto the ground.

"Tommy!" Kimberly cried. She leaned on her left foot and used her right to kick a putt in the chest. She did three back-hand flips and then attacked a few other putties that had surrounded her. "Jase!"

"They got a direct hit!" Zack said. He jumped up and kicked a putty in the Z on his chest, causing it to disintegrate. "We have to help them."

"Right behind you," Trini gave a thumbs up before punching another putty in the chest. She then turned and elbowed one right behind her before bending over, putting her weight on her right foot, sticking her left one back and kicking another putty in the chest.

"He won't know what hit him," Billy agreed. He jumped up in the air and did a split, hitting two putties at the same time.

"This is going to be sweet!" The Bonbon Bomber moved his hands in front of his cannon. When he removed his hands, in rapid-fire succession, candy went flying out towards the rangers so quickly. They all dove and rolled out of the way. But no matter where they moved to, the Bonbon Bomber would come back and shoot out another barrage.

Kimberly and Trini cried out in pain as they got a direct hit and flew back to the ground, sparks flying from their suits.

"This clown is going down!" Jason moved his hand to the side. "Power sword!" His weapon appeared in his hand and he rushed forward, swinging his sword towards the Bonbon Bomber. He managed to get a few hits before he was knocked back again.

"Power Bow!" Kimberly's weapon appeared in her hands and she brought the bow back, firing an arrow at the Bonbon Bomber.

"Power Axe!" Zack jumped up into the air and sliced the Bonbon Bomber with his axe, knocking it to the ground.

"Power Daggers!" Trini moved in close to hit it as well, sparks flying when the powered up metal of her daggers hit the monster.

"Power Lance!" Billy spun his lance to the side and then spun it back, using both ends of the lance to cut into the Bonbon Bomber.

"Looks like we've got him now, guys." Tommy said, moving in for the kill.

"I don't think so!" The Bonbon Bomber used its canon to push itself back up to its feet. He started to laugh evilly as his canon glowed red, sucking in as much power as it could.

"What's it doing?" Trini lowered her daggers.

"It looks like its getting ready for something," Zack nervously tightened his grip on his axe.

"Let's see if you can handle this sweet treat!" The Bonbon Bomber's canon was glowing neon red at this point and it seemed to be pulsing with energy. It moved its hands in front of the canon once more. "Cherry Bomb!"

A large blast of energy shot out and hit the rangers, blasting them into the air. They crash landed painfully on the ground. They all writhed with pain, trying to get back up so they could continue fighting. But they overestimated the power of Rita's and Zedd's monster this time. The Bonbon Bomber started to walk closer to the fallen rangers.

"Let's see if you can handle my Blue Raspberry Blast!" His canon started to glow blue this time.

"Stegorang!"

The Bonbon Bomber let out a cry of rage as a boomerang decorated with spikes came flying out of nowhere and hit its canon. The Bonbon Bomber spun in a circle but kept its balance. He then turned and pointed his canon at a figure that was slowly walking towards them.

"Who is that?" Billy asked, rolling onto his side. "It looks like…" he painfully grasped his shoulder. "Another ranger."

"Another ranger?" Tommy echoed.

The orange ranger walked closer to them, but stopped far enough away that they couldn't tell whether it was male or female. The orange ranger reached up a hand and grabbed onto the boomerang and it disappeared in a flash of orange light.

"You're gonna pay for that!" The Bonbon Bomber shot out his Blue Raspberry energy blast and it raced towards the orange ranger.

"Power Staff!" A large staff with plates like a stegosaurus as well as the same sort of spikes that the boomerang had, appeared in the orange ranger's hand. The ranger stepped to the side and held the staff like a baseball bat. At the last minute, the energy blast shot back towards the Bonbon Bomber and got lodged in his canon.

"Looks like this is the break that we need guys," Jason said as he and the other rangers got to their feet. "Let's bring it together!"

"Power Axe!" Zack tossed his weapon into the air, making the bulk of the combined weapon.

"Power Bow!" Kimberly threw hers to add onto Zack's weapon, giving the blaster wings.

"Power Daggers!" Trini spun her weapons around her fingers before throwing it up to add onto the weapon.

"Power Lance!" Billy pulled his lance apart and threw it up onto the weapon as well.

"Power Sword!" Jason jumped up high into the air and brought his sword down on top of the weapon, making the power blaster complete. "Let's do it guys." He held onto the power blaster and Kimberly, Trini, Zack, and Billy all crowded around him to help him hold onto the weapon. "Ready?"

"You got it, guys." Tommy encouraged.

"Fire!" the five of them cried in unison and the blaster show out its energy right into the canon of the Bonbon Bomber.

The Bonbon Bomber screamed as he fell to the ground, exploding as it did so. The power blaster dismantled and the rangers regained their weapons before they all disappeared. Tommy congratulated his fellow rangers before turning back to where the orange ranger had been, but it had disappeared.

"Who was that?" Trini asked out loud, reading everyone's minds.

"Better question is, are they here to help us or hurt us," Zack pointed out.

"I don't know," Tommy admitted. "We need to go talk to Zordon."

* * *

 

Avalon thought that everything that Zordon and Alpha had told her was a joke. A complete and utter joke. What reason did she have to believe anything that anybody said? She was smarter than that. She knew that you couldn't trust anyone other than your family, it was what she had lived by for years and it wasn't going to stop now.

Who would fall for it? Who would believe that by holding a technologically advanced belt buckle up to the sky and calling out a dinosaur name, it would actually turned her into a super hero?

Wishful thinking.

But she was in for a nasty surprise when it turned out that they were right. She had just left the Youth Center when Avalon had that familiar light-headed feeling and had been forced back to the command center. What else would you call it when you were taken against your will? A part of her knew that she couldn't resist, that there was some sort of power in the transportation that could be controlled, no matter how hard she tried to fight it.

Zordon and Alpha had shown her the plight the other rangers were in. Sensing her hesitation, Zordon insisted that she go and help them out. But Avalon refused, point blank. Zordon's and Alpha's insistence became too much and she agreed only to get them to shut up. Doing what she had been advised she was surprised when she transformed into the Orange Power Ranger.

But the truth of the matter was…she had no clue what she was doing.

She never strategically fought before. She only did what was instinctively shot through her mind, dealing as much damage as she could..and that was against other teenagers. Not mutant monsters. Avalon was teleported to the rangers and the Bonbon Bomber, but distanced herself.

As soon as she saw that the monster could be defeated, she teleported away.

She didn't ask for any of it, it wasn't her business, and she wasn't going to bother.

It was just a one time thing.

* * *

 

"Now that's the person that we could use on our side," Rita said, pushing her telescope away from her. She had been watching Avalon on Earth while she talked to her friends and then teleported off to be a Power Ranger. She had watched her whole conversation with Zordon and Alpha and felt nothing but glee when she realized that Avalon didn't want to help them. "Someone who doesn't want the responsibility."

She turned around and walked to hers and Zedd's bedroom, where he was snoring loudly in his bed. "Zedd, wake up!" She reached out and shook his shoulder.

Zedd was awakened almost instantly. "What do you want, motor mouth?" He demanded. "Can't you see that I'm trying to sleep?"

"Can't you see that I'm trying to take over the world?" Rita shot back. "I found someone that I'm sure is going to help us."

"This isn't another plan of making a new ranger is it?" Zedd's growl was deep in his chest. "That plan failed last time. Miserably, I must add." If he could smile, he would have nothing but a large smirk on his face as Rita openly glared back at him. A low laugh rumbled in his chest.

"This time, we're using someone that _doesn't_ want to be a ranger," Rita said, immediately capturing Zedd's interest. "We could use her as a secret weapon against him and the other rangers; we could get into his command center and take it over."

"Interesting." Zedd got out of bed and followed Rita over to her telescope. He looked through it and saw Avalon as well. He turned to Rita, a bit skeptical. "This is the one that can help us?" He asked.

"Positive!" Rita replied and gave an evil smile. "Zeddy, you and I are one step closer to dominating the world!"

* * *

 

"So how much homework do you have tonight?" Avalon asked as she opened the door to the apartment and followed Bailey inside. She handed Bailey her backpack before closing the door behind her, dropping her own backpack to the ground.

"Not much," Bailey replied with a shrug as she walked over to the couch and sat down. She pushed her glasses up her nose and adjusted her long ponytail. "Just some math and stuff. In science, we're going over natural disasters." She snorted as she rolled her eyes. "Like any idiot doesn't know how to figure out the trajectory pattern of a tropical storm system right before it makes a projected landfall."

Avalon looked up from the stack of mail that she was going through and gave her sister a pointed look. "In English Bay," she prompted.

"A hurricane," Bailey replied.

"So why couldn't you just say that?" Avalon returned her gaze to the mail. "Instead of confusing me with all of your science mumbo jumbo."

"You're only mad as a cut snake because I'm smarter than you," Bailey teased. She then smiled smugly. "It's not my fault that I got the brains and you got the clumsy gene." Avalon ignored her sister, tossing the pile of mail down onto the coffee table. "Nothing from Mum or Dad?" Bailey asked dejectedly.

"Of course not," Avalon replied, looking at her sister s if she were crazy. "There's never mail from them." She nodded over to Bailey's backpack. "Get your homework done and then you can watch some telly."

"Whatever you say, Av," Bailey emptied out the rest of her backpack onto the coffee table. "But it's not my fault that this school stuff is so easy. I wish they would put me in the advanced class, but _no,_ our credits back in Oz didn't all transfer."

Avalon shook her head as she walked into the kitchen and started to get dinner ready for the two of them. It had been only the two of them for a long time and while she was used to it, she wondered if it was something that she did that caused her father to send them out to California. _Of course it wasn't my fault that when we got here no one was there to pick us up. It was my smooth talking that got us to stay in a place like this._ Avalon tried not to dwell too long on the past as she gathered up the pots and pans that were going to be needed to make dinner for that night.

The abysmal state of the cupboards shocked her. When was the last time they had gone grocery shopping? _No wonder the guys were so adamant about making that hit, all of us are running low on cash._ The bread that sat in the cupboard was slightly hardened; it had probably been there for weeks and the milk in the fridge gave off a slightly odd smell; a couple of days past expiration. As bad as that was, that was the only thing there was to eat in the house apart from the spaghetti sauce and noodles she managed to find. There was no oatmeal, no cereal, no chips, no fruit, and certainly no candy; she couldn't even prepare a simple meal for the next day if she didn't think of something.

There was no getting around it.

She had to get some cash fast.

Avalon picked up a large pot and turned to the sink, turning the water on. She sighed as she watched the pot get filled. It was probably only a matter of time until the water and electricity got turned off, not if she couldn't get out there and actually get some work done with her friends. She had been interrupted by something associated with power rangers twice already and she was damned if that was going to happen again. Hers and Bailey's lives had already been disrupted enough; they didn't need it to be disrupted any further.

Avalon reached forward and turned off the water before picking up the pot and putting it on the stove. She turned on the water underneath before going to the equally bare pantry and grabbing a bottle of vegetable oil. She squirted some in the water and turned the burner on, briefly noticing that Bailey had turned the TV on and was starting to watch some kids show. She wondered if Bailey knew how much trouble that they were in, it was obvious that she was smart, math and science being her forte, but she wasn't socially inept or anything that came with the social stereotype of being smart. She probably knew that things could be better with them, but she never told her big sister about it. Avalon just hoped that she was doing a good job taking care of Bailey and gave her everything that she needed.

 _Not that I have much to worry about, I just have to complete a hit and then we'll be rolling in dough for months._ Avalon then took out another pot and put it on the second burner, before opening a jar of spaghetti sauce and dumping it into the pan before placing the jar in the sink. Avalon turned on the burner underneath it and turned back to the counter to open the box of spaghetti noodles. Only one box that was plenty for the two of them.

"How's dinner coming? OOH! SPAGHETTI!"

Avalon jumped at Bailey's excited cry, dropping the spaghetti noodles to the floor. She shot a glare over at her sister as she bent down and started to pick them up. Bailey giggled to herself as she walked over and helped her sister. "Bay! You nearly gave me a heart attack, you little boofhead!" Avalon scolded. She let out a huff, blowing her dark hair out of her equally dark eyes. "Yes, spaghetti. I know that you love it, and I thought they'd make a nice dinner tonight." She sniffed. "You can't tell me that I'm not a good sister to you."

"Jeez, why don't we just go ahead and light some candles, Av?" Bailey asked sarcastically.

"Shut up and pick up the noodles," Avalon said, though she was smiling a little bit. Once the food was cleaned off of the floor, the two ran them under some water in the sink and then kept them on the counter, waiting for the water to boil. "Don't you have some homework to do?"

She knew that Bailey had already finished it. That was the only reason that she was in the kitchen in the first place, bugging her.

"I told you," Bailey crossed her arms over her chest as he leaned against the counter. "The stuff is too easy. It didn't take me too long."

"Whatever, Whiz," Avalon replied and smirked as Bailey pouted.

"You _know_ I hate it when you call me that," Bailey practically whined, acting more like a five year old than an eleven year old.

"I know," Avalon replied. "That's why I do it." Her pager went off as she pulled it off of her pocket, looking at the number that came up. "That's Chase, I have to get going," she said, quickly walking back across the apartment to pick up her leather jacket, which she had discarded over the arm of the couch.

"You're not going to make me eat dinner alone, are you?" Bailey asked, following her.

"'Course not," Avalon shrugged into her jacket and adjusted the collar. "I'll be back before you know it and then we can eat together while watching Wheel of Fortune or something." She checked her pockets, looking through her wallet, before turning to leave. "Just make sure that you turn off the stove when everything's done."

"Wait," Bailey had moved forward and now had her hands on Avalon's belt. "What's this?" She turned Avalon's morpher back and forth as she studied it. "I've never seen a belt buckle like this before." She lifted her head and looked right into Avalon's eyes, almost as if she was accusing her of something. "Where'd you get this?" She asked.

"I got it from a friend," Avalon replied vaguely. Bailey continued to look at her. "I'm telling the truth, someone gave it to me."

Bailey was silent for a few more moments. "All right," She lifted her fist and Avalon bumped it with hers. "Just be-"

"Careful?" Avalon finished her sister's sentence before she could. Bailey nodded. "I always am, you dag." She reached out and mussed Bailey's hair. "I'll be back soon." She went over to the apartment and slipped out the door.

* * *

 

"Yo, Pinkie's finally here," Chase called as Avalon walked into the park and over to her friends. "We can finally get going."

"I'm surprised you haven't run away yet," Avalon replied coolly, crossing her arms over her chest. "You know, since those freaks scared you away so easily last time." She added with a smirk. Chase turned to her with a glare and opened his mouth to say something, but the boy with black hair, Skye, stopped him.

"Dudes, we need to get going now or they'll get back before we can make a hit," Skye said shortly, looking back and forth from Chase to Avalon before looking at the three others that were with them. There was a moment of silence and then Chase nodded.

"You're right Skye," Chase agreed. He cleared his throat and then addressed the group. "We need to get in, get the stuff, and get out. If you find something that you think will work too, don't stop and ask, just grab it and go. Got me?"

"Got it," Avalon replied with the others.

She looked around the park once more, half expecting the Z-putties to pop up again, but then turned her attention back to the task at hand and followed Chase and Skye, as they walked in front of her, falling into step with the rest of the group as they left the park. It was only a twenty minute walk, not that far away, but they had to move quickly. Even being stopped for a moment could ruin the timing of their whole plan. It had never happened before, there were a couple of close calls, but it hadn't happened. And it wasn't going to start now.

They finally managed to get to their destination, a mini mansion. It looked like there was no one home, there didn't seem to be any security put up either. The neighborhood was pretty safe, there weren't any burglaries and most of the neighbors seemed to get along perfectly fine. That's what they had found out from their research from the past couple of days, tonight was the night that it was all going to pay off. Chase darted forward across the front lawn and then disappeared behind the house. When he came back, his eyes were shinning with excitement.

"All's clear," he hissed. "Let's go."

Avalon, Skye, and the others followed Chase around the back of the house and onto a slope that was sitting next to a window that most likely led to the basement. Chase pulled a flat object out of his pocket and moved towards the window, wedging it between the bottom of the window and the windowsill. With a few jiggles of the object, the window popped open and Chase pushed it up.

"Alright, Pinkie," he turned to Avalon. "Get inside and open the front door for the rest of us," he studied the window. "It looks like you're the only one that's small enough to fit through there."

"What about Summer?" She turned to the only other girl that was in the group. "She's just as tiny as I am."

"I don't want to risk her screwing this up," Chase replied evenly. "Now get going," He nodded his head towards the window again.

Avalon let out a quiet sigh before moving forwards and sliding through the window, feet first. Her feet hit the floor with a light thud. She looked around as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could see a ping-pong table in one corner as well as big TVs and all of the latest gaming equipment. She would have been impressed and a little envious if she had the time.

Avalon turned on her heel and hurried up from the basement towards the front door. She ignored the pictures of the family that lived there that were along the walls. If she stopped to look at even just one of them, she would probably let her feelings, or worse, her guilt get in the way and she would scrap the whole thing. They were trained early on, not to let their feelings get in the way and the only time you were picked to go into a house was if you had proved that you could handle it.

Avalon went over to the front door and unlocked it, pulling it open. She let out a quick whistle and then two long ones, the signal that everything was safe. She and Skye then headed up the large staircase as Chase, Summer, and the two others that were with them stayed on the bottom floor. Avalon and Skye went to the master bedroom and started to poke around, opening up closets and drawers as quickly as they could. Once they found something that they thought was particularly valuable they shoved it into their pockets. Avalon had found a Rolex, a couple of rings, and a gold necklace.

She was holding it up to the light, studying it, when she heard a slight thud from downstairs and then hushed voices. She turned to Skye, who had stopped and listened as well. That wasn't normal. Avalon quickly put the necklace into her pocket and closed the dresser drawer before bolting from the bedroom, Skye was right behind her. The two hurried down the stairs, freezing on the second to last step when they saw Chase standing in the doorway to the living room. He was slowly shaking his head, his eyes going over to the front door.

Avalon looked over and saw a dark shadow through the windows that lined the front door. She could hear mumbling voices as well and her eyes widened.

Whoever owned the house was home.

If they didn't move soon, they were going to be caught.

Chase disappeared from the living room and Avalon could hear him, Summer, and the other two hurrying towards the basement to get back out the window they came in from. Skye grabbed onto Avalon's arm and the two turned and went back up the stairs and to the master bedroom. Avalon opened up one of the windows and climbed out, ducking as she shuffled across the roof, Skye right behind her. They stayed out of sight as they heard the front door open and the coupe go inside. They waited for the door to close before they continued along the roof until it sloped towards the ground. Avalon scooted over to the edge and gauged the distance to the ground; it wasn't that far, but she still didn't want to risk significantly injuring herself.

"Psst, over here!"

Avalon turned and saw that Skye was a few meters away from her, reaching out to grab onto the branch of a tree that was sitting by the house. Avalon hurried over to his side and waited for Skye to get down far enough so that Avalon could climb into the tree as well. The two of them quickly moved to the ground and hurried after their friends, who were already blasting down the sidewalk, running as fast as they could. They didn't stop until they reached the park.

"Is everyone here?" Summer asked when they stopped to catch their breath.

Avalon nodded as she placed her hands on her hips. She tilted her head back and looked at the sky as she took in some deep breaths. The stars twinkled peacefully back at her. "Everyone's here, mate," she replied.

"Good," Chase grinned. "Let me check out the stuff." He instructed and everyone emptied their pockets. He started to bounce on his toes with glee. "We got a good haul this time." He put his own stuff back into his pockets. "We'll meet up again this weekend, no need to draw too much attention to ourselves."

"Right."

"Later."

"See ya."

They all went their separate ways to go home.

 _Just remember,_ Avalon took the necklace out of her pocket and looked at it for moment before putting it away. _You're doing this for Bailey._

Avalon looked at her watch; it was time for her to get home and have dinner with her waiting sister.


	3. Power, Responsibility

**Chapter 03**

* * *

 

_"After school we're all going to go to the command center to figure out who the Orange Ranger is,"_

_"Oh, Avalon, we thought that you were sick,"_

_"Zordon, what's going on with the Orange ranger?"_

_"But the time is not right. As it stands, we're not sure if we can trust their power."_

_"That was an insignificant oversight,"_

_"We just want the recognition that we deserve!"_

Startled, Avalon woke up, her breathing in short, quick gasps. Her dark brown eyes darted around her bedroom, looking for the source of what had woken her from her slumber. She sat up, listening carefully. No footsteps, no sound that would indicate that there was someone else in the apartment. The TV wasn't on, so she knew that Bailey had woken up to watch some sort of documentary about who knows what.

Running her hands over her face, Avalon scooted back so she was resting against her head board. She thought hard about what it was that could have woken her. She didn't even remember her dream or anything that was said…but she, she could have sworn that she felt something forcing her to wake up. Avalon brushed it off, she was a light sleeper as it was, so any noise could wake her up from a deep sleep it in seconds.

Sighing, she looked over at the clock. It was only an hour before she usually got up, so it wasn't a big deal. Reaching over to turn off her alarm as she was going to be up anyway, Avalon jumped when the clock seemed to melt in her hand. Her eyes widened with shock as she pulled her hand back, staring at the remains of the electronic. Pulling back the covers on her bed, she climbed out and moved to her desk to get a closer look, turning on the lamp.

It wasn't smoking, but it did look like it had been made out of soft clay and someone had just slammed their fist on it, squishing it out of its original shape. Avalon ran a hand over her forehead. _What the-?_ Avalon turned away from the clock and moved towards her closet to grab her clothes, but tripped over her shoes, falling to the ground. Her head hit the corner of her dresser as she fell. But she didn't feel any pain, more like a slight bump. Confused, Avalon reached up and felt her forehead _,_ expecting a gash. Instead, she found a tiny bump, about the size of a small bug bite, and no blood.

"Weird." Avalon went into her closet and picked out a tank top and shorts to change into before grabbing her running shoes and pulling them on. She then picked up her key and placed it on a bracelet and slid it into her wrist. She quietly left the apartment, hoping not to wake up Bailey. Locking the door behind her, before starting to jog down the street.

She started off at her normal pace, but frowned, feeling that she was a bit sluggish going too slow. So she picked up the speed to what a light jog would be, and had the same feeling. She was going too slow. Confusion slowly ebbed away to a smile as Avalon picked up her speed, running faster and faster down the street. Houses and trees blurred past her as she continued to run, increasing her speed. She ran around the block five times in the amount of time it would take her to run it once.

Avalon slowed to a walk, barely out of breath, the biggest smile on her face.

It was the first time she had smiled in a long time.

* * *

 

"So we're all agreed?" Tommy asked in a low voice as he leaned towards Kimberly, Jason, Billy, Zack, and Trini.

The six of them were sitting in their seats for English class. Before class started, they were all planning on what they were going to do about the Orange Ranger. They had to know whether or not the new ranger was a friend or foe. The last time a new ranger had been added, it was because Tommy had taken over the power of light and that was needed to help them defeat Rita and Zedd.

So what could a new ranger be needed for? Weren't they enough already? If Zordon and Alpha were worried about the new ranger, was it really worth it? The power rangers had seen so much in their fight against Rita and Zedd; they weren't sure what to believe or what to think.

"After school we're all going to go to the command center to figure out who the Orange Ranger is," Tommy said. His eyes scanned the room. He lowered his voice even further, who knew who was listening to them? They had been careful to keep their identities a secret this long, they didn't want it to get blown when they were at the start of a new challenge. "For all we know, it's another evil ranger that Rita could have some up with."

"If that were the case, wouldn't Alpha and Zordon have some sort of sensor that could detect that sort of thing?" Zack's face was the epitome of worry, though his body language didn't say so. He leaned back in his chair, the back two legs being the only ones that rested on the floor.

"Not if they're using a human," Billy pointed out. He pushed his glasses up his nose. "They probably only have the capabilities of detecting life forms that run on pure evil or Rita's magic. If, like they did with Tommy, they used a normal human, they probably couldn't detect it."

"But if they're using another human, there's the chance that they have him or her under a spell," Jason reminded them. He spread out his hands. "We don't know for sure, but we can't take that risk." He looked around at each of his friends. "Like Tommy said, after school, we're going to the command center."

"No problem," Kimberly agreed with a nod. "We'll be there."

"Hey look!" Bulk and Skull entered the classroom, immediately locking their eyes on the six rangers. "The geek patrol is together again." His upper lip curled as he and Skull sauntered over to them. His eyes moved over each of them. "Where's the other geek?" He asked.

"You call so many people geeks, Bulk, who could we possibly know who you're referring to this time?" Trini asked with a light roll of her eyes.

"The other one," Skull spoke up. "You know, the new kid." He pointed over at Jason. "The one that he annoys." He burst out laughing as Bulk smirked over at the rangers, who rolled their eyes.

"We don't know where she is," Tommy replied with a smile. "But I can almost guarantee that she wouldn't want to go to the homecoming dance with either of you two, so it's better not to ask."

Bulk's smirk faded and he glared at Tommy. Tommy smirked, knowing that he had struck a nerve with the larger teenager. Bulk narrowed his eyes at Tommy in silent warning before he and Skull moved away from the rangers and sat down in their own seats.

"Where is Avalon anyway?" Kimberly asked, grabbing everyone's attention. "She wasn't at her locker this morning and I didn't see het at lunch either." She twirled her pink pen around her fingers, her eyebrows coming together. "You don't think that anything happened to her, do you?"

"If there was a monster attack we would know about it," Trini reminded her. "She's probably just sick or something." She thought for a moment. "If that's the case, we could find out her address and bring her flowers, to cheer her up."

"Yeah," Kimberly smiled. "I like that idea."

"You're forgetting that she just moved here," Zack said. "Why is it that whenever someone is out of school their first thought is that they're sick?" He shrugged. "She could be skipping the day to unpack some more stuff. If I could use being a new student in school as an excuse not to go for the first couple of days I'd take it."

"The chances of her being sick are very high though," Billy said. "What with allergies going around and the pollen count going up. Plus there's the fact that with Rita's monsters there is the pollution aspect that they could create, especially when they destroy certain buildings."

"You can bring her flowers after we go visit Zordon," Tommy said. He looked up and smiled as Ms. Appleby walked into the room, her arms laden with books and the lesson plan for that day. The other rangers moved to their seats and got settled as Ms. Appleby started class.

"Good afternoon, class," She greeted them cheerfully. "I hope that you all got your homework done last night, because today we're going to be starting a new project." She clasped her hands in front of her. "The idea of the project is that you're going to be put into groups of three and you are going to take a topic and research it for a month. Any topic you want, and you're going to have two and a half weeks to work on it. At the end of those two and a half weeks, you're going to give a thirty minute presentation on it in front of the class."

"Ugh, thirty minutes?" Skull cried, his face falling. "That's like… _forever_!"

"It's only forever when we have to listen to you talk," Kimberly replied with a smile, causing the others in the class to laugh.

"And before you try to split yourselves into your own groups," Ms. Appleby said with a pointed stare at her students, who lightly groaned at the idea. "I already have them chosen for you." She turned and picked up a sheet of paper off of the desk. "First group is Jason, Kimberly, and Trini."

"All right!" Kimberly cheered, giving Jason a high-five before beaming over at Trini.

"Next group is Bulk, Skull, and Tommy."

Tommy tried hard not to make a face as he heard Bulk and Skull make snorting sounds behind him. The last thing that he needed was to have to work with them for two and a half weeks on a project that they would probably force him to work on when he didn't want to. He was going to try hard to stay civil to them, but their antics would get on anyone's nerves at the drop of a hat.

"And next we have Billy, Zack, and Avalon." Ms. Appleby lifted her head and looked around the room, her eyebrows lowering. "Oh dear, has anyone seen Avalon today?"

"We think she's sick," Trini said helpfully. "Kimberly and I were planning on brining her flowers after school. We could bring her homework assignment, too."

"Thanks very nice of you, Trini," Ms. Appleby said. "Just come up to my desk after class to get it so I don't forget." She read off the list of the rest of the students that were going to be in groups before she allowed the class time to work on it. She settled down at her desk as the students moved their desks and chairs around so that they could form their groups to discuss what they were going to do for their projects.

"Man, this is going to be a great project," Zack said, his eyes shining with excitement as he turned to Billy.

"Affirmative," Billy agreed. "We can choose our own topic, so we have a plethora of options to choose from." He grabbed a notebook and flipped it open to write down some topics that they could decide on later. "For example, we could research the history of dance-"

"Yeah, let's do that!" Zack declared. "You could the actual presentation on it, and I could bust my moves to add in a visual effect."

"That's an idea," Billy laughed, noting Zack's enthusiasm. "But you also have to take into consideration what style or era of dance that you want to focus on. As well, you also have to determine whether or not you want to talk about when it was first invented, or when it's documented first use was. There's a lot that you have to think about for a topic."

"So," Zack gave a sheepish smile. "Couldn't you just come up with that and I bust out my moves?" He laughed and lightly slapped Billy on the arm. "I'm kidding, Billy. Don't worry; I'll make sure to do an equal amount of work for this project."

"Well, we have to pick a topic, and the only way we can do that is if we get Avalon's approval on it." Billy reminded him.

"Yeah, easier said than done." Zack agreed.

The final bell of the day rang and everyone got up to gather their things. The rangers went to go put their stuff in their lockers and made sure that they had everything they needed for that night before they walked out the front of the school, nearly bumping into Avalon on the way.

"Sorry," she said in an unconvincing tone as she back peddled a few steps. "Didn't see you there."

"Oh, Avalon, we thought that you were sick," Trini said. She turned and started to dig in her backpack for the school work that she had gathered. Avalon frowned, glancing at the ground. She turned back to Trini when she held papers out to her."We got your homework for you." Avalon took it, barely looking it over, before shoving it haphazardly into her backpack. "Kim and I were going to bring you some flowers."

"I'm allergic to flowers," Avalon said, sliding her hands into the back pockets of her black jeans. "The pollen. It's a wonder that I can go anywhere in the spring." She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder, looking up at everyone. "If that was all, I need to-"

"Oh, you didn't tell her about the project," Tommy said, nudging Zack on the arm.

"Right, the project," Zack replied. He smiled down at Avalon, his hands on his backpack straps. "You, Billy, and I are going to be working on a project together. Any topic we want and it's a thirty minute presentation at the end, we have two and a half weeks."

"Great," Avalon gave a half smile, her eyes flitting over Billy an then Zack. "Smurf and Twinkle Toes, this sounds like it's going to be fun." She dropped her gaze, looking at her watch. "Nothing personal, but I have to go pick up my-"

"Avalon!" Bailey walked over to her sister, looking more than annoyed. She stopped by her sister's side, placing her hands on her hips. "I've been waiting for you for twenty minutes. What happened?" She turned her head, seeming to notice everyone else and then blushed, looking at her feet.

"Is this your sister?" Jason asked, pointing at her.

"Unfortunately," Avalon replied and laughed when Bailey reached out and punched her on the arm. "This is Bailey. Bay, this is Jason, Tommy, Zack, Kimberly, Trini, and Billy." She turned to Bailey and spoke to her in a condescending tone. "And I was just coming to get you, but they were giving me my homework. You're the one that says that homework is important."

"It is," Bailey agreed. "But so is, um, _your flesh and blood_!"

"She's so cute!" Kimberly said with a laugh.

"You wouldn't think so if you had to listen to her go on and on about math and science and stuff all the time." Avalon rolled her eyes.

"Oh!" Billy turned and smiled down at Bailey, who smiled shyly in return. "You're an enthusiast of science too?"

"Oh, yes," Bailey pushed some f her loose hair behind her ear. "It's my favorite subject. I just love it so much. I mean, there's always so much that you can explore and create and discover. I love it." She reached up and grabbed onto her backpack straps, lightly rocking back and forth.

Avalon tilted her head to the side as she turned to her sister. "Are you okay? You seem kinda shaky."

"I'm fine," Bailey said quickly. She then lowered her voice, turning her gaze to the ground. "Can we go please?"

"Go ahead," Zack said, waving them off. "We have stuff that we need to do with our parents," he said slowly, looking over at Billy and the others, hoping that they would catch on to his hint. "So we can start the project later, you know, coming up with a project topic and everything."

"O…kay," Avalon said slowly. She raised her eyebrows. "Whatever." She turned to Bailey. "I'm telling you, around here, these people are a few sheep short of the station."

"It's just you." Bailey patted her sister on the arm before putting her hands on her sister's backpack and pushing her away. "Now come on, we have stuff to do at home." Avalon turned her head back and glared at Bailey. She thought quickly. "Last minute unpacking and stuff. We need to get it done or we'll never be able to go out."

Avalon narrowed her eyes at her sister before she shook her head and walked off with her.

"Ok, you guys ready to go?" Tommy asked, looking around before leading his friends around the side of the school. "We need to get some answers from Zordon." He checked to be sure that no one was following them and then nodded at his friends.

They nodded back and then all grabbed onto their morphers and transported to the Command Center.

* * *

 

"Aye-yi-yi-yi-yi, rangers, what are you doing here?" Alpha cried as the Rangers appeared at his side. "There isn't any disturbance on Earth."

"We know Alpha, we just need to talk," Jason said. He turned and looked up at Zordon. "Zordon, what's going on with the Orange ranger?" he asked. "They helped us out in that battle about the Bonbon Bomber, but they disappeared after the battle ended."

"Yeah, is it someone that we can trust?" Tommy took a step forward. "Or is it another evil ranger that Rita has cooked up to try and make it harder for us?"

"Rangers, when the time comes, I'll be able to tell you everything that you need to know about the Orange ranger," Zordon said patiently. "But the time is not right. As it stands, we're not sure if we can trust their power."

"So it _is_ someone being controlled by Rita." Trini said.

"Not this time, Trini," Zordon said. "The Orange ranger is someone that can be of a great deal of help to you once they decide whether or not they want to take the responsibility. Each of you, as Power Rangers, had taken that responsibility of saving the world no matter what gets in the way. Alpha and I trust you with your powers."

"But with this new ranger, we know that the powers that were given are right," Alpha explained. "The powers chose the orange ranger, but the orange ranger hasn't chosen the powers. We don't know if they would abandon you in battle or fight bravely by your sides."

"We don't know if Rita will take the orange ranger's doubts and use it for her own gain or use it against the orange ranger, specifically as an inside attack against us." Zordon agreed.

"But can't you tell us who the orange ranger is?" Kimberly took a step closer to Tommy. She looked up at him before turning back to Zordon. "Maybe we can help him or her decide whether or not it's something that they should do. We know that it might not be for everyone." She looked around at her friends. "We've had to sacrifice a lot and risk the doubt that we have in each of us to take these powers so maybe we can help."

"I'm afraid not Kimberly," Zordon advised. "We can't risk the lack of trust in the ranger when there is a chance that you could be hurt as well." He turned his gaze to Billy. "I need you to make a new communicator."

"What for?" Billy asked.

His hands twitched as his sides, like they usually did when it came to the prospect of inventing something new. But this was a different case. He would like to revisit the idea of the communicator, to see if he could improve on it as well as see what else could be done to help the rangers even further. But he wasn't exactly sure why it would be made. He had just said that the new orange ranger wasn't someone that they could trust fully, not yet.

So why would they make that decision of all times?

Why wasn't he asked to do it before?

"We would like for you to create a new sort of communicator to have as a back-up just in case the ones that you have now fail." Zordon replied. "In essence, a backup communicator that can still be used if the power grid fails. You never know if Rita or Zedd will find a way to disrupt the communication that you all have between us as your morphers."

"I'll get on it as soon as possible," Billy said with a determined nod.

"Are you sure that you can't tell us anything about the Orange Ranger?" Tommy asked. "It might be easier to monitor the person if we did know who it was." He wasn't going to give up on this. He had been taken over to be an evil ranger before, and he wasn't going to let that happen to anyone else. If the others could save him from Rita's spell, then he could help whomever else the power had chosen.

"I'm sorry Tommy, but right now, we can't let you know anything about the identity of the Orange ranger." Zordon said.

"It's for the safety of _you_ rangers and the Orange ranger as well," Alpha pleaded. "Please understand."

"We understand, Alpha, don't worry," Trini reached out and lightly placed her hand on Alpha's shoulder. "We just wish that there was a more proactive way to help."

"Once Billy gets that communicator finished, it'll be a great help," Zordon said firmly. "Now, please go and get some rest."

"All right." Jason nodded and the six friends transported out of the command center.

Alpha turned back to Zordon. "Zordon, I really hope that the decision that we've made is what's best for the Rangers."

"We won't know until we see how future events unfold, Alpha," Zordon said. "In the mean time, we need to watch the other rangers and Avalon carefully to see how things progress with them individually and together. It could be what determines whether or not the power will ultimately take Avalon on as its commander."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we're going to be in grave danger."

* * *

 

"Are you going to go out with your friends again today?" Bailey asked, running a brush though her hair. Avalon's upper lip curled as she stood at the counter, pouring a box of cereal into a bowl. She made that one facial movement, but she didn't reply. "Don't you think that you should take a break? You're going to get caught soon."

"I'm too good to get caught, Bay," Avalon dismissed her, turning to the refrigerator to pull out a jug of milk.

Bailey let out a short sigh as she put down her brush and walked over to her sister. She rested her arms on the counter. "No one's too good to get caught," She said in a low voice. "Why do you think that there are jails filled with people?" She clapped her hands together as she spoke her next four words. "Because. They. Got. Caught." Avalon shrugged and pushed one of the two bowls over to Bailey before picking up her own bowl and walking around the counter and into the living room. She curled up on the couch before turning on the TV, bringing a spoonful of cereal up to her mouth. "Why are you doing this, Av?"

"I told you a million times," Avalon mumbled around a mouthful of cereal. She swallowed and picked up another spoonful before continuing. "It's so we have money."

"So why don't you get, I don't know, a job, boofhead!" Bailey shook her head. "You know, like normal people do."

"I'm surprised it's taken you this long to notice that I'm not normal," Avalon replied with a slight eye roll. "I hate to play by the rules and I don't like to be told what to do." She shrugged. "And that's also why I won't get a normal job. You can't get a job without experience and you can't get experience without a job. Besides, then I'd have to worry about helping other people and people get on my nerves so…"

"So why do you still stick around Chase an all of those other creeps?" Bailey finally started to eat her own breakfast.

"Because they're my friends," Avalon replied after a moment.

"I'm sorry…" Bailey tilted her head to the side. "Aren't you the one that said that you preferred to be alone? How can you have friends if you're a loner?"

"Well, because…" Avalon paused as she about it. She frowned as she dropped her spoon back into her bowl. "You see…I….it' sort of like….shut up!" She viciously shoved another mouthful of cereal into her mouth, keeping her eyes on the TV. "You're too young to understand."

"And yet, I'm smarter than you," Bailey replied with a smirk. It then faded as she looked down into her cereal. "I know that you're doing this for me, but…I don't want you to get in trouble."

"I won't," Avalon said firmly. "Eat your breakfast."

The sisters continued to eat while they watched early morning cartoons. When they were done, Avalon took both of their bowls and put them in the sink, filling the sink with water to let them soak. She then went up to her room and grabbed her backpack and morpher. Avalon stared at the morpher in her hands for a long time.

"Why do you keep bringing this with you if you don't want it?" She muttered to herself. Avalon moved her thumb over the power coin that was in the center, reveling at the gold texture and the raised bumps that created a picture of a stegosaurus. "Why would they choose you if you're the last person on the planet that even qualifies for that position?"

She shook her head before sliding her backpack onto her shoulders and heading back out into the main sitting area of the room. Bailey was sitting on the coffee table, looking at a picture that was in her hands. Avalon slowed her pace when she recognized the picture.

"I don't mean to sound harsh sis, but I wish that you would stop looking at that," Avalon said as she walked over and gently lifted the picture from her sister's hands. She tossed it haphazardly onto the couch.

"But don't you miss Mum and Dad?" Bailey asked, turning her soulful, dark brown eyes up to Avalon's.

"Not really," Avalon replied, looking at her watch.

"Liar," Bailey accused.

"You don't know when I lie, so don't even try giving me that crap." Avalon smiled and lightly cuffed Bailey on the back of the head. "Come on or we're going to be late for school." Bailey let out a sigh as she stood up from the coffee table and followed Avalon to the front door of their apartment.

 _"_ You're not going to forget me again today, are you?" Bailey watched her sister carefully as the two stepped outside and Avalon turned back to lock the door.

"That was an insignificant oversight," Avalon replied, sounding like a robot. "To quote you," she added before turning and walking down the stairwell and out the lobby. "I promise it won't happen again." She held out her pinky finger and Bailey wrapped hers around Avalon's. "No worries. You know that I'm good at keeping my promises."

"I know," Bailey said. She looked at her feet, pushing her glasses up her nose as she walked alongside her sister. She had to walk a bit faster to keep up with Avalon's quick stride. "You promised that you would take care of me after what happened with Mum and Dad and you have." She tilted her head back to look up at the sky. "I just wish that you had a better way of doing it."

 _You and me both, kid._ Avalon didn't say anything in reply.

* * *

 

"Open!" Avalon cried, jimmying her locker door. She groaned as her armful of books fell to the ground. "Great, clumsy as ever." She sighed before resting her forehead on the door.

Her day had progressively done downhill as soon as she had gotten to school. She realized that she had forgotten to grab a paper off of her desk that morning and now had to get a whole letter grade off when she turned it in tomorrow, her locker door got jammed that morning so she had to carry her books around all over the school (that was more of a nuisance than it being heavy), her teachers seemed to want her to be more active so they kept calling on her in class to answer questions. And, to top it all off, she couldn't help but feel as if she had been watched and followed all day. Sure, Jason and them were in most of her classes, most of them time they weren't all together, and their mere presence, which Avalon couldn't explain, annoyed her to no end. But it wasn't because of that.

She had felt like she was being watched for the past couple of days and now it was starting to make her even more of a paranoid freak than she already was.

"Watch it geek!"

Avalon looked up to see Bulk shove a kid out of his way before grabbing onto the lunch sack that he was holding on to. Skull stood at Bulk's side, chewing on a piece of gum as Bulk opened up the brown bag of lunch and looked inside. He then lifted his head and glared at the kid that he had shoved.

"Next time, no mayo," he said before stalking down the hallway again.

"Hey, Bulk, right?" Avalon called as he got closer to her. "D'you think you could scare my locker door into opening?" She asked, backing away from it. She would have tried using her newfound strength to rip the door open, but didn't want to bring attention to herself. No more than the attention she already had. Avalon gave a light laugh. "You've done such a beauty job with everyone else; I figured that it would work on inanimate objects too."

"No problem," Bulk cracked his knuckles before he moved over to her locker door. He punched it once and the door sprang open.

"Thanks," Avalon heaved her backpack inside before grabbing her lunch bag. She looked up when Skull appeared at her side, holding onto her books. "Thanks for that too," she took them and paced them into her locker before slamming the door shut. "Now I know who to call next time I need a hero." Her sarcasm was almost lost to the urge to laugh at the irony.

"That's Bulkie," Skull said with a proud smile. "A helper to all."

"Watch it, you might ruin my reputation," Bulk shot back.

"Well, we wouldn't want that to happen." Avalon turned on her heel and started to walk towards the cafeteria. "You know what? You two remind me of some friends of mine," she said slowly. "But not as menacing, no offense." She held up a hand. "Every time someone sees my friend, they know that shit is about to go down." _And that's mostly true. I haven't seen Chase go up to someone and them not immediately be suspicious of him._

"Sounds like my kind of guy," Bulk said with a half smile. "Does he go to school around here?"

"Nope, he doesn't go to school, he dropped out," Avalon replied, keeping her gaze straight ahead. "He works in an auto shop not too far from here." Avalon slowly frowned. _He hasn't been working there long? Did he start working there to keep an eye on me?_

"There are times that Bulkie wishes that he could drop out." Skull grinned. "But he's too scared about what his mommy will say." He laughed loudly and Bulk pulled back a fist, warning Skull to keep his mouth shut. "Sorry," Skull apologized quickly.

Avalon sat down at the nearest empty lunch table and was surprised when Bulk and Skull sat down with her. "Don't you have your own friends to sit with?" She asked. "No offense, mate, but I'm sort of a loner. I like to be alone sometimes."

"And sit with any of those other losers?" Bulk shook his head, emptying the stolen lunch bag and his own lunch bag out onto the table. Avalon stared at all of the food, suddenly very envious. "I don't think so. I mean, what if them being such goody-goodies rubbed off on me? That would be horrific."

"Bulkie here-"

"How come you always talk about Bulk?" Avalon's eyes narrowed as she studied Skull. "I mean, so far, all I've heard you talk about is Bulkie this, and Bulkie that." She spread her hands. "Now, I'm not saying that Bulk is a bad guy, I'm sure he has _some_ redeeming qualities." She pushed her hair out of her face. "But you seem like you don't have a lot of attention on yourself."

"That's because he's a moron," Bulk commented before taking a bite of his foot long sandwich.

"That's up for debate, "Avalon said her eyes still on Skull. Skull looked surprised, then turned away from her. "Like, what kind of movies do you like? Do you read books?" She paused. "Probably not. What do you do for fun?"

"He doesn't do a lot," Bulk replied through a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, I don't do a lot," Skull repeated as he dug into his own lunch. "I mean, other than help Bulk try to find out the identities of the Power Rangers."

Avalon froze for a second, her sandwich lightly slipping through her fingers. _Do they know?_ She slowly lowered her sandwich back to the ground and tilted her head to the side, her eyes narrowing slightly. The way that he said it, it sounded like they had been trying to figure it out for a while, so there was no way that they knew about her. Not that that would matter anyway, she hadn't even decided whether or not she was even going to join them anyway. Zordon and Alpha made it seem like she didn't have a choice in the matter, but she knew that she wasn't up for the whole thing. It wasn't in her character to help other people.

In a way, she was pretty selfish, only thinking about herself and her sister. She didn't let anyone get close to them and she stole from other people to get money for the two of them. She would be too much of a hypocrite if she had joined them.

"Really?" She brought her sandwich back up to her mouth. "I haven't lived in Angel Grove too long, only for a couple of years, but they always seem to be in the news." _You can't go a day without having heard about them somehow. If not on TV the in the newspaper._ Her hand drifted down to her morpher and she ran her fingers over it again. _Maybe this isn't a good idea._ Avalon took a bite and started to chew it. "Why do you want to find them out so badly?"

"Because they're superheroes," Skull replied, seemingly coming to life. He had said it so loudly that some other students turned to look at them. At Bulk's glare and slightly growl, they all looked away again. "They're not these…stupid do-gooder high schoolers that act like they're better than anyone else."

"They help others because they can and because they want to help them," Bulk added. "Plus, it would be big news if anyone found out who they really were."

"So you want some sort of cash prize out of it?" Avalon asked.

"No, we just want the recognition that we deserve!"

Avalon sucked in a sharp breath. She knew that she had heard that before. In fact…she had seen the whole conversation play out in front of her before. But that was impossible; no one could see the future. _But I didn't really see the future, I was asleep…_Avalon was broken out of her thoughts by Skull's next movement.

Skull slammed his fist on the table to punctuate his sentence. He slammed the table so hard that the drinks that Avalon, Bulk, and Skull had went flying and spilled all over the place, some landing on Bulk and Skull, the rest of it splashing to the floor. Avalon burst out laughing as Bulk shoved Skull on the shoulder, knocking him out of his chair and onto the ground. Bulk wiped soda off of his face before grabbing a bunch of napkins that had been packed into his lunch and rubbed them over his face.

"What's so funny?" Bulk demanded as Avalon continued to laugh.

"You are!" Avalon said as she calmed down. "Both of you." Her eyes flicked over to the other rangers before she looked at Bulk and Skull again. A odd look was in her eyes. "You're so much more interesting than the rest of the people around here. Unique, even."

"Thanks!" Skull beamed as he got off of the floor. He then did his famous laugh, causing Avalon to chuckle.

"I like your laugh, too." Avalon continued.

"Most people find it annoying," Skull remarked as he cleaned up some of his mess.

"Well, one thing that I'm sure that you'll find out sooner, mate," Avalon rested her elbows on the table and leaned forward. "I'm not most people."

_That's an understatement._

* * *

 

"Does anyone else think that it's kind of weird that Avalon is willingly hanging out with Bulk and Skull?" Trini asked as she put her books into her locker. "I saw them at lunch today and she seems to be getting along with them very well."

"What I can't understand is why anyone would want to waste their time on them in general," Kimberly said as she rolled her eyes. She shrugged. "But, maybe she's still trying to find her way around. She's only been here for a week."

"I don't know," Jason said slowly, grabbing the two girl's attention. "There's something…off about her. I can't explain it, really," he said, noticing the curious looks on the two girls' faces. "I just have a feeling about it, like there's something about her that we don't know." He shrugged. "But I'm also wondering about Zordon, the new communicator, and the Orange Ranger stuff, it's been filling my head all week."

"I know what you mean," Kimberly agreed, reaching out her hand and lightly placing it on Jason's arm. "I even had a dream last night, where I could see the Orange Ranger, but I couldn't see their face, it was all blurred out." She frowned. "I haven't been that frustrated since I missed the shoe sale in the mall at the very last minute." She shook her head. "I had to buy all of them at full price rather than 75% off."

"Ooh, that sounds so scary, I'm going to have nightmares for weeks," Trini teased her friend.

"About this project that we're working on you mean?" Tommy asked as he, Zack, and Billy came up to them. He gave Kimberly a kiss on the cheek before putting his arm around her shoulders. "It's going to be brutal.

"It's not due 'til the end of the month," Jason pointed out. "So you have a while to work on it."

"Yeah and a while of being stuck in Bulk's and Skull's torture," Tommy reminded him, raising an eyebrow. "I tried coming up with a topic with them today, but they just spent the whole time shooting spit balls at Billy."

"After I calculated the trajectory of the first one, it wasn't hard to dodge the rest," Billy said with a shrug. "But Tommy is right; I don't see how working with Bulk and Skull is going to save his grade." He turned to Zack. "Hopefully they didn't rub off too much on Avalon, or else we're going to be in trouble too."

"Did someone just say my name?" The rangers turned around to see Avalon standing behind them, her hands on her hips. Her dark brown eyes darted back and forth over each person's face. When the others stared back at her she let out a breath looking up at the ceiling. "What? Your cactus stares are really creeping me out."

"We were just talking about our project," Zack said, giving her a smile. "We were thinking that we could get started on picking a topic today so we don't have to worry about having so much work piled up on us later."

"Makes sense," Avalon said slowly. She looked like she didn't believe them, but didn't pressure him even further. "What were you thinking of? Library? Park?"

"Well, you have to pick up your sister after school right?" Billy asked. "Why don't we just go to your place? It makes more sense to go in the same direction and with the districting of those that come to this school as well as calculating the distance from the middle school; you can't live that far away from here, right?"

"Right," Avalon said slowly. She thought quickly. "But, uh, we can't go to my place."

"Why not?" Trini asked. "What Billy said does make a lot of sense. I know that he can use big words sometimes, but it was pretty straight forward this time."

"It's not that," Avalon brought a hand up to her forehead. "I understood him; believe me, once you hear my sister talk." She licked her lips, keeping her gaze on her feet. "No, it's just that…we've got fumigators coming over to the house, to check for rodents, silverfish, stuff like that, and I don't think you want to get poisoned." She lifted her head and looked up at the group.

She could feel herself starting to sweat when she noticed Jason's hard stare on her. She frowned a little, not sure how else to react. One thing that Avalon was known for was the fact that she didn't back down from a challenge and that she resisted authority the best that she could. But when it came to the way that Jason was looking at her, it was like he could see right through her. It made her wonder if he knew about what was going on, but her second thought reassured her.

They were too careful for anyone to come close to figuring out what really was going on.

"Any particular reason why you're staring at me, Rudolph?" She questioned.

"Rudolph?" Kimberly repeated, giggling slightly. "That's a good one."

"I've got Twinkle Toes and Smurf too," Avalon said, motioning over to Zack and Billy. "Now I just need to figure out something for you three." She gave a half smile before turning back to Billy. "I don't feel like failing and I don't think that you would feel like lying on your deathbed in a hospital, so your place or no?"

"Don't you still have to get Bailey?" Zack asked.

"D'you mind if she tags along?" Avalon started to become impatient. "I don't have any other place to take her."

"Why don't we all just go to the Youth Center?" Trini suggested. "Kim, Jason, and I have to work on our projects too, so we can hang out while we're working on them."

"Whatever!" Avalon threw her hands into the air. "I just need an answer so I can tell Bailey what we're doing. You don't know her very well, but she likes to do things a certain way and she likes to know what she's doing before she does it." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Eleven years old and she has _no_ idea how to be spontaneous. Thankfully it's what I'm ace at." She looked at her watch. "Wow, it's about time to pick her up already."

She turned on her heel and started to walk down the hall over to her locker. She lifted the latch and opened the door, grabbing onto her backpack.

"Whoa, what happened?" Tommy cried when he saw the dent in her door. "Did you lose a fight with your locker this morning?"

"No, it was just stuck," Avalon replied. "Bulk got it open for me."

"Do you think that it's a good idea for you to hang out with them?" Kimberly asked, lightly twirling some of her hair around her finger. "I don't mean to say that you have bad judgment, it's just that Bulk and Skull aren't usually the kind of guys that you want to be associated with."

"They're funny," Avalon shrugged. "And entertaining." She pulled her backpack out of her locker and closed it. "I don't see why people don't really give them a chance. If you ask me, they seem kind of lonely." She turned to walk to the front doors of the school but tripped and fell over her feet, falling flat to the ground, her arms out in front of her. "Wow, I'm getting tired of that."

"Are you ok?" Tommy reached out and he and Jason helped her to her feet.

"Pshht, I'm fine," Avalon brushed off her clothes. "You'd be surprised at how much of a klutz I am. I'm always hurting myself on something." She started walking again. "It's a wonder that I'm ever off the ground." She added, rubbing her hip.

"No problem, some dance practice should help with that," Zack demonstrated by doing a few dance moves.

"Thanks Twinkle Toes, but I don't dance." Avalon dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "I like to draw, read, write, play the guitar, surf, and go to the mall, that's about it."

"Uh-oh," Jason laughed lightly when he noticed Kimberly's eyes light up. "You should never mention the words 'mall' or 'sale' around Kim. She can be in there for hours on end, even when there's absolutely nothing for her to buy."

"It's not just shopping that I like about it," Kimberly rolled her eyes. "It's the _experience._ "

"And one trip to the mall with Kim is definitely an experience," Trini said. She and Kimberly laughed as Kimberly reached out and lightly shoved her before putting her arm around Trini's shoulders. "Which way to the middle school?"

Avalon pointed in the direction before leading the others there. _I hope no one shows up at the Youth Center, I wouldn't be able to explain that._ Avalon thought about her morpher in her backpack. _Hell, I hope I don't get stuck having to save someone else._

Avalon arrived at the middle school and spotted Bailey quickly and waved her over. "You remember these guys, right?" She asked, briefly waving her arm over to the group behind her.

"Yeah, hi." Bailey waved a hand before suddenly looking at her feet, her cheeks flushing red. She shuffled her feet. "Um, I'm ready to go home now."

"We can't," Avalon said sharply, causing Bailey to look up at her. "Remember?" She asked, widening her eyes slightly. "The place is being fumigated, Mum and Dad called it in _weeks_ ago." Bailey gave her a confused look. "As it is, we're going to the Youth Center to work on this stupid project that we've been assigned." She motioned to Zack and Billy.

"Oh," Bailey looked over at the black and blue ranger before turning back to her sister, a bright smile suddenly on her face. Avalon gave her an odd look. "Ok!"


	4. Code Orange

**Chapter 04**

* * *

 

Tommy closed his locker door and took a deep breath as he turned to see Kimberly at her locker. He shook his hands out, wiping them on the sides of his pants before he made his way over to her. Kimberly looked up as he was walking over and smiled, running a hand through her hair, being careful not to dislodge the pink flower that was resting by her ear.

"Hey Tommy, what's up?" She asked him before stretching up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, well, not much," Tommy returned her smile. "Just…" he trailed off, licking his lips. "Listen, I don't want you to think that I don't care about you." He started. Kimberly gave him a confused look, tilting her head to the side. "But…doing cute, creative things…I'm just not good at it. And I know that you're probably expecting a really public way of me asking you but…" he pulled out his hand that was behind his back, revealing a bouquet of roses.

"Tommy!" Kimberly's eyes lit up as she took the bouquet. "They're so beautiful." She hugged them to her chest and sniffed them, smiling at the pleasant scent that wafted out of them. "Thanks so much."

"So, will you go to the homecoming dance with me?" Tommy asked with sheepish smile.

"Of course," Kimberly looked over her shoulder before giving him a kiss.

"Settle down, kids, some might be uncomfortable with that sort of thing," Zack teased as he walked over. He clapped Tommy on the shoulder. "I told you that the flowers would work, man." He winked at the two of them. "Never underestimate the work of flowers."

"That's because you use them to try to distract your mother when you get a bad grade," Jason commented as he, Billy, and Trini walked over as well. He turned to Kimberly. "What are you doing today? Do you want to help me and the guys with a class that I'm teaching today? It's bigger than any of the other ones I've had and it'll be easier to have a lot of help so different aspects, like balance, can be worked on in smaller groups."

"Oh, I can't," Kimberly said with a apologetic smile.

"Kimberly and I are going to the mall to put our homecoming dresses on reserve," Trini replied.

"What'd I tell ya, man?" Zack shook his head as Tommy laughed. "They always have to know their dresses two weeks ahead of time."

"Actually, the idea has some merit," Billy spoke up. He held his books at his side. "The intelligible idea of utilizing one's time to its full potential will not only set you up for attainment in the future, but it's a useful clout to have."

"What he said," Trini agreed. "It's better if we get it done now. That way we'll have more time to plan spirit week and the events and stuff leading up to homecoming. Plus, there's the decorating and the budget that we have to go over as well."

"So," Kimberly linked her arm through Trini's. "We need to get going now or we're going to fall way behind schedule." Her smile widened. "And when I say schedule, I mean my shopping plan, because there has to be enough time to buy shoes…more than one pair if there's a sale!"

* * *

 

"I saw the cutest dress here the other day," Kimberly said as she and Trini walked through the mall, over to a store that had many bright colored dresses in front windows. "They have so many great choices, too. It was hard to choose just one."

"I'll bet," Trini agreed as they walked into the store. "You and dresses…you always have such a hard time just picking one."

"It's not my fault that they're, like, so cute and perfect," Kimberly giggled. She headed straight for the dresses at the back of the store. Those were the ones that were more formal, the ones towards the front of the store held what you would normally wear on a Saturday afternoon or for a walk in the park. "Look!" Kimberly beamed and pulled out a pink dress with a black rose in the corner. "Isn't it amazing?" She asked her best friend.

"It's perfect for you," Trini agreed. "Go try it on," she urged.

"Ok," Kimberly held the dress against her chest before she hurried into the dressing room and it tried it on. To her delight, it fit her perfectly. Once she left the dressing room, she then walked over to the accessories and found a pair of black high heels, a white bracelet, and a white head band with a pink rose on it.

"Ok, now we need to find something for you," Kimberly said as she turned to Trini. "You're gonna totally die when you see what I have in mind."

"I'm sure it's great, Kim," Trini agreed.

They walked back over to the other dresses and found a yellow dress with a big black belt for Trini to try on, Trini walked into the dressing room and tried it on, and it also fit her perfectly. They then found the perfect accessories for her dress as well, a pair of black high heels and a black rose chain necklace with a diamond in the middle

"That's so awesome, Trini!" Kimberly cried when she saw the necklace that her friend had picked out. "Seriously, I think it's the best necklace that I've ever seen. It reminds me of the necklace that I'm going to wear. It's my favorite; I got it from my mother." She nodded earnestly. "The pearl one, you know? It's so rad."

"I really do like it," Trini agreed. She looked over the dress before looking back at the necklace that was in her hands. "We should go and pay for this stuff before someone else tries to get them." The two went back to the dressing rooms and changed into their clothes before taking their dresses and accessories over to the cash registers.

Once they paid for their dresses, Kimberly and Trini took their bags and started to slowly walk through the mall, looking around at the other stores to see if there was anything else that they wanted to get. Kimberly gazed at a pair of wedge heels that was being displayed in a window with a longing stare. But she was trying to keep herself from buying too much

"C'mon Kim," Trini lightly tugged her arm. "It's not going to help if you if you're staring at them like that."

"But they're so cute!" Kimberly protested.

"Kim, you think all shoes are cute," Trini reminded her with a laugh. "That's why your closet is filled to the brim with them."

"I can't help it," Kimberly leaned heavily into Trini's side, pouting. "I just love them all." She and Trini laughed, lightly pushing each other. Kimberly twirled into Trini's path and then turned to her best friend with a sly smile. "Do you have a date to the dance yet?"

"Not yet," Trini replied, shaking her head. "I've been too busy to even think about it." She shrugged, moving her hands behind her back, twisting her bag back and forth.

"Good," Kimberly clasped her hands together. "Because I know someone perfect that you should go out with." She wiggled her eyebrows before laughing, lightly pushing Trini's arm. "You should go with Billy; the two of you would have a great time together!"

"I don't know, Kim," Trini shrugged again. "Dances aren't really Billy's thing-"

"So?" Kimberly interrupted. "You guys would have a blast together!" She stopped walking and tilted her head to the side. "I mean, you like him don't you?"

"It's not that Kim, it's just…" Trini shook her head. "Never mind, forget about it." Kimberly pouted and looked like she was going to push the issue even further, but Trini looked to the side, taking her eyes away from her friend. "Hey, look, it's Avalon." She pointed.

Kimberly turned around and the two watched as Avalon walked over to the large fountain and sat down on the edge, crossing her legs at the knee, her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket. She bounced her foot up and down, the heel of her boot barely grazing the floor. It looked like she was waiting for someone.

"Let's go over and say 'hi'," Kimberly said and started over before Trini could say anything. "Hey Avalon," Kimberly greeted her cheerfully. "What brings you here?"

Avalon lifted her brown eyes to Kimberly. "I'm taking in the whole mall experience," She said with a sarcastic edge to her accented voice. "They don't have places like this back in Oz." She commented. She shook her head. Her hair, which was pulled back in a orange scrunchie, bobbed with her movements. She then crossed her legs the other way. "I'm just waiting for some friends of mine."

"Oh right, you said that you've been living in Angel Grove for a couple of years now," Trini nodded. She smiled warmly. "How do you like the place?"

"I like it fine," Avalon shrugged. "There just seem to be a lot of monster attacks and earth quakes around here."

"Oh yeah," Kimberly tried to keep a straight face. "It's so weird, isn't it? It's like something out of a monster movie."

"You just have to be careful around here," Trini added. "Keep your eyes open and stay as safe as possible."

Avalon nodded at the advice, but didn't respond. She then looked at the bags that were in their hands. "I'm guessing you just got your dresses for the dance next month?" She asked and then tilted her head to the side as they nodded. "I didn't know that people still went to those things."

"You're not going?" Trini asked, her eyebrows rising. "It's homecoming, everyone goes to the homecoming dance."

"Dances aren't my thing," Avalon said simply. "I never really got the point of dressing up to go to a dance. Besides, there's always some sort of aggro drama that pops up somewhere." Her eyes shifted behind the two girls as she stood up. She nodded over at Chase, Skye and Summer as they moved to her side, all wearing black leather jackets as well. Avalon paused for a moment before turning back to Kimberly and Trini. "This is Chase, Skye, and Summer." She then turned her friends who were studying the Pink and Yellow Ranger closely. "Guys, this is Kimberly and Trini."

"T'sup?" Skye asked with a light bob of his head. He looked down at their bags and s smile slowly spread across their faces. "Looks like you've got a lot of shopping done."

"Deb," Summer added with a smile. "That's my kind of store. Cute dresses and everything."

"I know," Kimberly agreed. "We just got our homecoming dresses. The dance is next month."

"Lucky you can afford it," Summer's smile waned for a moment. "The stuff is kind of expensive."

"Summer, lay off," Avalon warned her friend. She looked at Kimberly and Trini out of the corner of her eye for a moment before looking at her again. "All you ever do is talk about money, sheila, it gets old fast." Summer merely shrugged.

"Pinkie," Chase turned towards Avalon, completely ignoring Trini and Kimberly.

 _Pinkie?_ Trini's eyebrows knitted together.

"Didn't you say that you had to get your sister today?" Chase continued.

"She's working on a science project with her group at school," Avalon replied, looking back at Chase, returning his challenging stare. "What's it to ya?" She shook her head. "Ignore him," she was now speaking to Kimberly and Trini. "He thinks that he's some sort of a God or something." She twirled her finger by her head, causing the two girls to laugh. "I have to go," she tilted her head towards her friends. "I've got plans."

"We'll see you in school," Kimberly agreed. As Avalon turned away, her eyes moved towards the belt that she was wearing. She let out a light gasp when she caught a glimpse of Avalon's morpher. Kimberly grabbed onto Trini's arm and pulled her to the side, sitting on the edge of the fountain, knowing that the rushing water of the attraction would mask their voices. "Trini, I think Avalon has a morpher."

"What?" Trini's eyes widened. "Are you sure, Kim?"

"No," Kimberly admitted. "But when she was turning away, I caught a glimpse of her belt buckle, and it looked exactly like a morpher."

"But why would Zordon give her the powers and not tell us?" Trini asked. "If it really was a morpher." She added. Trini thought for a moment and then snapped her fingers. "The communicator!" She cried. Kimberly made a face. "Remember? Zordon wanted him to make another communicator, what if it's for Avalon?"

"Then why wouldn't Zordon and Alpha tell us?" Kimberly asked. "The last time this happened, Tommy was given the powers of the White Ranger and it was being kept a secret so Rita wouldn't try to use her powers of darkness against him as he was first getting his powers." She raised a finger to his chin. "It must be something important if they haven't said anything."

"We won't know unless we ask," Trini pointed out. She looked down as their communicators sounded. "Speak of the devil." She lifted her communicator up to her mouth. "What's gong on, Zordon?"

"You and Kimberly need to get to the command center right away," Zordon replied.

"Got it," Trini said.

"Let's go." Kimberly nodded.

She and Kimberly got up and hurried over to the bathrooms, ducking inside. They checked the stalls to be sure that they were alone before they transported to the command center.

* * *

 

"Good, you're here," Jason said once Kimberly and Trini appeared at his side. He gestured to the viewing globe. "Check it out."

Kimberly and Trini looked over at the viewing globe. They gasped when they saw Rita's latest monster, what looked like a giant fish attacking a nearby playground. What made it worse was that was where Bailey and her group had been working on their project. When the girls spotted the monster, they tried to get away. But Bailey tripped and fell and the monster converged on her.

"We have to help her," Zack said, watching the screen intently.

Trini turned around o face Zordon. "Does this have to do with Avalon?" She asked him. At Tommy's, Jason's, Zack's, and Billy's confused glances, she quickly explained what happened at the mall. "Zordon, we can't risk Bailey getting hurt."

"Wait a minute." Jason held up his hands. He looked hard at Trini. "Are you saying that Avalon is one of us?"

"We don't know," Kimberly shook her head. "I thought I saw a morpher on her when we were at the mall, but I couldn't be sure."

Jason thought for a moment and then nodded. "Whether it's true or not, I'm not going to allow a innocent person to get hurt." He turned to Tommy and he nodded back. "It's morphin' time!"

"Tiger Zord!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber Tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The Rangers transported to the park where the fish monster had grabbed onto Bailey and was trying to hold her still. Bailey was putting up a formidable fight, rocking back and forth as she tried to break free. She fell to her knees, still struggling to get away, screaming the whole time.

"Let's do it, guys!" Tommy said, forming his hand into a fist.

"Bailey!" The rangers turned to see Avalon running through the playground towards her sister. Her hair had fallen out of the ponytail and was flying behind her as she ran. "Bailey! Let my sister go you bludger!" Once she got close enough Avalon gave a flying kick to the monster's head, knocking him to the side, releasing his grip on Bailey.

Bailey fell to the ground with a grunt. "Av!" She called towards her older sister.

"Get out of here," Avalon called. Bailey leapt to her feet and ran away as she fast as she could. Avalon turned back to the monster, her hands moving into fists by her face. "What are you anyway?"

"The Savage Sardine and I have direct orders from Rita to get rid of you!" The fish monster turned around and whipped Avalon with its tail, knocking her over. Avalon got back to her feet and charged the Savage Sardine, knocking him to the ground. She punched the Savage Sardine in the face a couple of times before he managed to knock her off of him again. The fish monster then used its webbed hands to slash Avalon's cheek before it swung its tail again, giving her a nasty blow to the head.

"You can do whatever you want to me," Avalon said as she got to her feet, a fire blazing in her dark eyes. "But when you touch my sister, that's when you cross the line." She kicked the Savage Sardine between the legs before backing up, giving herself some space. She looked down at her belt. "Number one rule in street fighting," she said to herself. "Use whatever you have around you to your advantage." Avalon quickly took her morpher off of her belt and raised it up to the sky. "Stegosaurus!"

To the Rangers' amazement, Avalon morphed into the orange ranger.

* * *

 

"Hiya!"

Avalon, now the orange ranger, surged forward and attacked the Savage Sardine with her new power. Avalon couldn't help but smile grimly to herself when she found that she was stronger than before, due to the new powers that she had acquired. It was probably the only thing that she could find that was good about having to be a ranger. _Maybe if I could turn into a ranger when our group gets challenged, they wouldn't mess with us anymore._

Avalon continued to attack the Savage Sardine before she held her hand out to the sky. "Stegorang!" She called. Her boomerang with spikes, much like a stegosaurus, appeared in her hand. She ducked as the Savage Sardine turned towards her, trying to hit her with its tail, and then jumped high into the air. "Let's see if you can handle this!" She threw the boomerang and as it flew around the Savage Sardine, it did enough damage to cause him to fall to the ground as Avalon caught her boomerang again.

Avalon's eyes widened when there was a crackling of blue electricity and the savage sardine grew in size, towering over her, like Godzilla.

"This bloke really means business," she muttered to herself.

"Avalon now is the time to call upon the power of your stegosaurus zord!" Zordon's voice filled Avalon's helmet. "It's the only way that you can defeat the Savage Sardine."

"Got it," Avalon threw a hand into the air. "Stegosaurus!" She called. Avalon whipped around as there was a loud roaring sound behind her and found that her orange stegosaurus zord grunted and lowered its head. Avalon grinned. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" She jumped high into the air and entered the cockpit of her zord. "Let's see what this baby can do!"

"Don't think that you can defeat me!" The Savage Sardine cried. He attacked her zord; managing t hit her with his webbed hands along with a combination attack of a lashing with its tail.

"No you don't," Avalon muttered under her breath, her frustration quickly rising. She grabbed onto the controls of her zord and maneuvered it around so that the tail of the stegosaurus to hit the savage sardine. When the Savage Sardine hit the ground and tried to get back to its feet. Avalon tugged on the controls once more. This caused her zord to form itself into a ball, the spies along its back forming a protective shell around her. She twisted a knob and her zord started to harness energy as it started to rotate, much like a tire that was being revved on a car. "Fire!"

Like it was shot out of a canon, her zord rocketed forward and crashed into the savage sardine, easily defeating the monster.

* * *

 

Avalon let out a weary sigh once she got back to the apartment. She was wiped out from the battle earlier that day. She didn't think it was that bad, but once the power was gone, when she powered down from being a ranger, it was like all of her energy had been taken away from her. When the battle was over, she had sat down on a bench at the playground for a while and just thought about everything that had happened. Things definitely could have gone worse if Zordon and Alpha hadn't alerted her to the fact that her sister was in trouble. She probably wouldn't have fought the monster if it wasn't for her sister, if she was completely honest with herself. She was going out to do another hit on a different house, after being absolutely sure that no one was going to be back for a while. Chase was pissed when she had to leave.

So when the fight was over and she was done thinking, she had gone back to the house to see what was left. All she managed to get was a few measly pair of earrings, and they were the really expensive ones so she knew she was going to be limited on what she got from it. Avalon had then caught up with Chase, Summer, and Skye and they all went to the Pawn shop to get the money from it. She managed to get away with almost four hundred dollars, but it wasn't anywhere near close to what she had gotten from the last hit. Chase didn't say anything about it, but she knew that he was questioning her loyalty to them.

All of it was just making her even more paranoid than she was before.

"Av!"

Avalon got the wind knocked out of her as she was practically body-slammed against the door by her little sister. She looked down to see Bailey's arms wrapped tightly around her waist and was being squeezed tight. Avalon was about to tease her, calling her a baby about the way that she was acting, but then she got a good look at her sister's face. She had been crying; her eyes were completely bloodshot, she had dried tears on her face, and she was shaking. Avalon could feel Bailey shaking through her jacket.

"Bay, it's ok," Avalon said, wrapping her arms around her little sister and hugging her back. "Things are going to be ok." She titled Bailey's head back and wiped away her tears. "I promised that things were going to be ok with mum and dad's situation and I was right, right?" Bailey sucked in a gulp of air and nodded, her lower lip trembling. "And things are going to be ok now; I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Bailey nodded, but continued to hold onto her sister. Avalon waited until she was calm enough, before she bent down and hoisted Bailey onto her back, piggy-backing her into the living room and dropping her onto the couch. "You know you really have a knack for getting in trouble," she remarked, before flopping down onto the couch next to her sister.

"And you have a knack for getting me out of it," Bailey replied. She wiped at her face. "How did you know where I was, anyway?"

Avalon closed her eyes, thinking about what she could possibly say to explain it. She knew that it would be hard to lie to Bailey, because Bailey would be able to figure it out really quickly. She had figured out that Avalon was in a gang faster than anyone else could even notice that her grades were starting to slip. It shocked her at first, but then it made sense, considering the fact that Bailey, without a doubt, had the smarts in the family. She could read Avalon like a book. It was only a matter of time until she noticed the bruises from the fights that she got in, and all of the money that she seemed to suddenly start getting (though she would hide it from her parents). It often made Avalon wonder if she was a bad sister, doing what she was doing. Lying to basically everyone they knew, taking care of Bailey herself, committing crimes day after day just to be sure that their heads stayed above water.

She knew it was wrong. She was even feeling guilty more times than not, because of what she was doing. But she was doing it for a selfless reason; to keep her sister from having to worry and that was the only thought that got her through the day. She couldn't risk anyone else finding out about what was going on. That's why she didn't have any friends, that's why she wouldn't have anyone over, that's why she wouldn't let anyone get close to her or her sister; even though it would probably be better if Bailey did have someone her own age to turn to. But she couldn't take that risk. She could risk them getting screwed over again and again. She promised herself that it was going to stop and it stopped. She wasn't going to allow their situation to go back to the way it was before. If she continued o be careful, then they could live well until Bailey was old enough to move out.

People were too scared to talk.

So she was safe for the time being.

So how was she going to explain all of it to a girl that, while she was smart, was still a little girl?

"Av?"

"Hmm?" Avalon opened her eyes to see Bailey still staring at her.

"Boofhead." Bailey gave a small smile. "I asked how you knew that I was in trouble."

"I always know when you're in trouble," Avalon said shortly. She desperately wanted to change the subject. "You're my sister; it's my business to know."

"But you were at the mall with your friends," Bailey insisted as only a ten year old girl could do. "Like, across the city. How did you know to come help me?"

Avalon stared hard at her sister and Bailey stared right back at her. Part of her was annoyed at that point, since she knew that the only way that Bailey learned not to back down from anything was from her. _Sucks being the oldest sometimes, especially when they mimic you so much._ Avalon decided not to answer the question, getting up from the couch and moving over to the kitchen. She was going to start dinner, anything, just to get that question away from her.

"You're a power ranger aren't you?" Avalon stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at Bailey. There was no point in denying it; she could tell just from the look on her sister's face that she knew it was the truth. Avalon's mouth gaped open, not sure what to say. "It wasn't that hard to figure out," Bailey said. She gave a half smile. "The fact that you have the same sort of belt buckle that the rangers do solidified it for me. I had my suspicions before then."

Avalon let out a sigh, running a hand over her forehead. She didn't even want to say the words out loud. That would make things too real for her, especially after what happened that day.

"Thanks Av," Bailey continued.

Avalon playfully scowled at her sister. "Just go take a bath."

"Fine."

Bailey left the living room and disappeared into the bathroom. When she heard the water turn on, Avalon went over to the counter to check the mail. Her scowl deepened when she noticed how many bills were in there. Definitely more than what she had made that day. That just meant that she had to be a bit more creative to get money for them. Avalon tossed the bills aside before getting out pots and pans.

_I'm going to make sure that Bailey stays with me if it's the last thing that I ever do._


	5. Part of the Team

**Chapter 05**

Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Trini, and Tommy watched as Avalon, the Orange Ranger exited her zord, landing on the ground in a crouch. She slowly stood up, placing her hands on her hips. She looked at the area the monster had just been before looking around. She looked straight at the rangers for a few moments before turning and running out of sight with an incredible amount of speed.

"Power down!" Tommy cried.

The rangers all turned to each other once they powered out of their suits. Each of their faces had the same amount of shock and worry. "If Avalon is the orange ranger, then it can't be much longer until Rita finds out her identity," Tommy said.

"And if she does find out, then there's going to be more monster attacks," Zack agreed. "We've seen how she got when she was using Tommy as the green ranger." He shook his head, the memories flooding back. "She was ruthless then…she'll be even worse now."

"What are we going to do?" Kimberly chewed her lower lip in worry. "We can't just go up to her and tell her that we know she's the orange ranger. Not without bringing attention to ourselves." She brushed her brown hair behind her ear. "Not without telling her that we're rangers too."

"Maybe that's what we should do," Trini said. All eyes turned to her. "Think about it," she said calmly. "She might be confused, scared about the whole thing. If we tell her who we are…maybe we can show her that she's not alone. That we're all part of a team."

"It doesn't look like she wants to join our team," Kimberly reminded her.

"Trini has a point, though," Billy said. He brought a hand up to his chin, lowering his gaze in thought. He was quiet for a moment, and then dropped his hand, shaking his head slightly. "Rita aside…for our own protection, and Bailey's, it might be better if we reveal ourselves. That way we can cut our losses and keep an eye on both of them in case Rita is up to her usual, dirty tricks."

"Someone's going to have to try and talk to her about being a ranger," Jason said firmly. "Kim and Trini have already tried talking to her at the mall and they didn't get much, and I haven't seen her much since we found out that she was a ranger." He frowned. "But we have to do something before it's too late."

"We'll regroup later," Tommy decided. "Right now, we're bringing too much attention to ourselves, especially if someone comes by to see what happened here." The rangers jogged out of the park before teleporting back to Ernie's before going their separate ways.

* * *

 

_"Someone's going to have to try and talk to her about being a ranger. Kim and Trini have already tried talking to her at the mall and they didn't get much, and I haven't seen her much since we found out that she was a ranger, but we have to do something."_

Jason's words echoed in Tommy's head as she moved towards his locker one morning. He remembered what it was like, having been a new ranger, having his powers ripped away, then being brought back as a ranger again. Things were so stressful and weird for him then. Even though he had the other rangers' trust and confidence in him, he couldn't help but feel a little…weird. He had a feeling of doubt, that they didn't think that they could handle it. They had been doing it for so long when he joined them; it just took a while for him to feel completely comfortable.

That's what he expected Avalon to feel. She wasn't the most outgoing person in the world, but it still couldn't be easy for her.

"Look, it's the leader of the dorks," Bulk's voice reached Tommy's ears, causing him to roll his eyes. He had enough of Bulk and Skull, having put them in their place almost on a daily basis, but they didn't seem to understand when to give up. At least they were harmless for the most part. "Where are your dorky friends?"

Tommy turned to Bulk, raising an eyebrow. "They're not here yet," he said calmly. He found that not giving Bulk and Skull an actual response was the best way to go. To show that they weren't really getting to him. "And don't you think that, by now, you would've some other way to insult us? I mean…" he placed his hand on Bulk's shoulder. "Dorks and Losers are getting kind of old."

Tommy nearly laughed out loud, silently watching the gears slowly turn in Bulk's head. After the words sunk in, Bulk shot a glare over at the white ranger, eyeing him with nothing but distaste. "Yeah, well, Bulky here has a ton of insults to use against you guys!" Skull sneered, coming to Bulk's rescue. He crossed his arms over his chest before reaching out and slapping Bulk on the arm. "Tell him Bulky."

"Yeah, tell me, Bulky." Tommy raised his right eyebrow before he shook his head. There was a small smile on his face that infuriated Bulk even further. "Look, we have that project that we need to work on. Why don't we just try and have some sort of a compromise? While we work on the project, you stop ragging on me and we'll get a good grade."

"Sorry." Bulk shrugged and then continued in a taunting tone, "I don't speak, loser."

"Whatever man." Tommy shrugged as well. "But we really need to start this project and I'm not going to be doing all of the work."

"Well, I-"

"Hey boys, what's going on?" Avalon walked over to the teenage boys and stood between them. Though she was shorter than all of them, standing at an even five feet, her confidence made her appear taller. She turned to Bulk and Skull, her dark eyes flashing with warning. "I hope you're not wasting your time on this bloke." She tossed her head over to Tommy. "You have a better chance of going after someone that's actually going to cower in fear."

Bulk turned his gaze to Avalon. "It's not my fault these dweebs act like they run the place around here."

"Wait a minute-"Tommy started to say.

"How about I buy you your lunch today and you leave him alone?" Avalon suggested. "Really, it's on me. It'll give you a break from having to scare kids out of theirs. That way you can rest and start up again tomorrow." She looked over at Skull and laughed when she noticed that he had stuck out his lower lip. "I'll get yours too, Skull." She said and then a mischievous glint came to her eye. "Trust me; I have enough money to spare and more."

"Whatever." Bulk turned on his heel and started to walk away. He turned back to Avalon. "And don't try to stiff me on the good stuff."

Avalon raised a hand, signaling that she heard him, before she went to walk to her own locker. _Probably the only person that would be able to get him to back off of someone they're tormenting that's not a teacher._ Tommy followed her as she spun the dial on her lock and pulled it open. "Was there something that you wanted?" She asked, not turning her head.

"Yeah," Tommy said slowly. He looked over his shoulder before taking a step closer to her. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, waiting for him to speak. "Listen, I know that this may be heard to believe but…" he lowered his voice, taking a step closer to her."I know that you're the Orange Ranger." Avalon lifted her head from her locker and slowly turned to him, her eyes narrowing. However, Tommy noticed that she didn't seem surprised. It was like she had been waiting for him, or someone, to tell her. _That's definitely not what I was expecting._ "I'm a Power Ranger too." He explained.

Avalon closed her locker door and slung her backpack over her shoulders. She shrugged before tilting her head to the side. "Good for you." Her eyebrows then lowere in a troubling expression. She brought a thumb up to her mouth and started to chew on the nail. Slowly, she dropped her hand and looked right into Tommy's eyes. He saw her lower jaw tremble for a moment, her eyes flashing confusion. "Wait," she said slowly. "The others…" She lowered her voice as well. "…They're power rangers too aren't they?"

"Yes." Tommy confirmed her questioned with a nod. "I know that things are really weird and all of this is happening so fast. But I want you to know that we're all a team and that we're here to help you. We need to help each other." Avalon continued to look at Tommy, the expression on her face not changing. "Being a power ranger is great responsibility and it means that we have to work together as a team to stop Rita from taking over the planet."

Avalon now looked even more troubled than she had before. "Who's Rita?" she asked.

"She's an evil space witch that has been sending the monsters down to earth to help take it over," Tommy explained. "This is really hard to explain, but the power that you have…it was given to you for a reason. If Zordon and Alpha trusted you with these powers, then it's something that you have to take seriously."

Avalon raised an eyebrow. A look of offense replaced the confusion. "What makes you think I'm not taking it seriously?"

Tommy studied her for a long moment. The way that she looked back at him, he could see the challenge in her eyes, as if she was daring him to say something that would make her upset. He wondered what it was that was causing her to be this way. She didn't talk to many people in school, she voluntarily hung out with Bulk and Skull, and it seemed like she couldn't care less about the powers that she was given. But he knew that Zordon only mentored someone with their powers when he thought that they deserved it and were an asset to their team. So he knew that there was something about her that Zordon and Alpha trusted, but he wasn't sure so far. She had come and helped them through one battle, and had ruthlessly fought another one of Rita's monsters to help her sister, but other than those few moments, it seemed that she didn't care about anyone but herself.

"I know what its like," Tommy explained, going a different way to get the point across. "New in school and the new guy when it comes to being a ranger, but things do get better. We really do want to be your friends and want to be able to help you when you can. We…just expect that you'll help us too."

"I've helped you already, didn't I?" Avalon asked, raising her arms and then slapping them to her sides. Her face then softened slightly. "Look, I get the point. It's just like with Bailey; you want to be sure that your family, friends, and the people of Angel Grove are safe. I understand that. But that doesn't mean that we have to become buddy-buddy or anything. I like my privacy."

"I just want you to know that we're here for you," Tommy said patiently.

"I got that the first time, Tommo, thanks." Avalon looked down and pulled the bottom of her jacket aside as her pager went off. She made a face and then lifted her head, a look that was a mixture of anxiety and defiance. Tommy was about to warn her about the pager, remember when he had almost had his communicator taken away for it going off in class, but was interrupted. Tommy's communicator rang-in a totally ironic moment-but before he could answer it, the two of them were transported out of the school and to the command center. Avalon fell to the ground on her stomach, her arms stretched out in front of her.

"Wow, that's definitely a sense of déjà vu," she muttered to herself.

"Are you ok?" Billy reached out and grabbed onto her hands, pulling her to her feet.

"I'm good, Smurf, thanks," Avalon wiped off her clothes before looking around the command center. She noticed that Kimberly, Trini, Zack, and Jason were there as well.

"A familiar or humorous name in replacement for or addition to the proper name," Billy noted. "I like it."

Avalon ignored him as she turned to address everyone in the room. "Any reason why I was kidnapped to come here?"

"Av! I can't believe this, this place is _so_ cool!" Bailey's voice caused her to freeze, her shoulders flying to her ears. Bailey came from around the corner and raced over to her sister, behind her glasses her eyes were flashing with excitement. Alpha sauntered up behind her. "And check this out, Alpha showed me the weapons that you guys use! They're bonzer!" She grinned at Avalon as her sister looked back at her, completely dumbfounded. "I can't believe that you're a ranger, these guys either!" She continued to gush. "It's so-"

"Ace? Excellent? Bonzer? Cool?" Avalon dropped her shoulders. "I get the point, Bay." She turned back to the other rangers, lightly shaking her head. "Now you get why I don't bring her anywhere." She muttered.

"You all know that as a power ranger you can't let any other people know your true identities," Zordon's voice grabbed everyone's attention. "And so far you've done a good job with that rule. There had been no reason for Alpha or me to doubt you thus far."

"Trust me, none of this was my fault, mate," Avalon defended herself, shooting a quick look over to her sister. Bailey's eyes were so big they looked like they were about to bug out of her head. She looked up at Zordon with mystified wonder and nothing but utmost respect

"Through unusual circumstances, Bailey Mitchell has found out about your real identities," Zordon continued, ignoring Avalon's statement. "But things like this can be a blessing in disguise. From my investigation, it seems like you enjoy science and technology as much as Billy does." Zordon continued.

"We would you like to help me and Zordon with the advancements of the weapons and zords that the rangers use," Alpha said, putting a hand on Bailey's shoulder. He looked towards Avalon as her pager beeped again. Avalon ripped it off of her jeans and let out a low growl, pushing abunch of buttons. Once she was satisfied, she put it back in her pocket, sliding her gaze over to Alpha. "Using your creative mind would greatly help the rangers in their quest against Rita, Zedd, and their minions."

"No way!" Bailey cried.

"Yeah, as in 'no way' you're going to do this!" Avalon snapped.

"Av!" Bailey stomped her foot on the ground, turning to her big sister.

"Don't you 'Av' me."

Avalon and Bailey started to argue with each other as the other rangers watched, laughing lightly. "Looks like things aren't going to be as quiet around here as it used to be." Zack laughed.

Trini shook her head before reaching out and patting him on the arm. "When is it ever quiet around here?" She asked, laughing as well.

"But if she can fight like that with her sister, just imagine what she can do with Rita," Kimberly agreed. She looked at her friends. "I think this is a good idea, guys."

"Either way, we'll be glad to have her as a part of our team." Jason nodded. He cleared his throat, causing Avalon and Bailey to fall silent. He walked over to Avalon and looked down at her for a long moment. Finally, with a serious expression, though kindness radiated from his eyes, he held out his hand. "Can we count on you to be part of our team?"

Billy must have noticed Avalon's hesitation, for he placed a hand on her shoulder. He squeezed it gently. "We really could utilize your talents and prowess to subjugate Rita and Zedd." Avalon pushed Billy's hand off of her shoulder.

"I don't know," She said slowly. She watched Bailey as she moved around Zordon's power tube looking it over. _Probably trying to see where it gets its power from._ Avalon sucked in a breath, shaking her head. She looked back and forth from Jason to Billy and back again. "I mean, would Bailey be safe?"

"While in the command center she will be under the best protection that anyone can create," Alpha reassured her.

"Avalon, will you join forces with our team to defeat Rita once and for all?" Zordon asked.

Avalon locked eyes with Jason, whose hand was still outstretched towards her. She looked at the other rangers as each of them smiled and nodded at her. Tommy caught her gaze last and gave her a warm smile and an enthusiastic nod. He could see the doubt in her face and…something else. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was clear that she wasn't completely sold on the idea. He knew that it wouldn't take long for her to realize that it was the best thing for her to do. His eyebrows lowered when her pager beeped again, this time even longer than it had before. He watched as Avalon's eyes moved towards her pager and her uncertain expression worsened.

 _Who needs to get a hold of her so badly?_ He exchanged glances with Kimberly, who had the same worried look on her face. _But that's the question in itself. Is she really ready for this kind of commitment? Can we really trust her with the powers that she's been given?_

At that moment, Tommy wasn't sure.

But he was going to find out.

Avalon sucked in another breath. _I swear I'm going to regret this. But I'll do anything to keep Bailey safe._ She reached out her hand and placed it into Jason's shaking it firmly.

* * *

 

Avalon doodled in her notebook as she waited to get back to work, though she didn't expect it to happen anytime soon. Looking over at Zack, she noticed that he was sitting at the table, headphone in his ears and was bopping along to the tinny music that poured out. Avalon then turned back to Billy and Bailey, who were deep in some sort of conversation about who knows what, as they had been ever since they had arrived at Ernie's.

The day had passed in a blur after she agreed to help the rangers. She could barely pay attention in any of her classes; most of what was said went in one ear and out the other. She couldn't shake what had happened at the command center. She actually agreed to help them, despite what already took up most of her time. However, she couldn't find a reason to say 'no'. All of the pressure…but there was still a good part of her that knew that she was doing the right thing. A part of her deep down knew that there was a reason that she had been decided to become a power ranger. She, personally, didn't see it. She had done anything exemplary. In fact, most people would see her as a 'bad girl' and 'intimidating' though she personally didn't see that herself. She was doing all she could to make sure that her sister had a good life, so skipping some school, missing some classes, and focusing all of her attention on her was worth it in her opinion.

"And so the calibrations can be tested easier?" Bailey hung onto Billy's every word.

Avalon rolled her eyes mockingly. If Bailey noticed, she didn't acknowledge Avalon at all.

It made her wonder why she opted to bring Bailey with her to Ernie's rather than having her stay back at the apartment. Bailey had begged and pleaded to go with her, eventually wearing Avalon down after pointing out that she was going to have to learn about the Command Center and everything that went along with it if she was going to help her sister and the other rangers. Avalon was still against the idea of her little sister working there, but no matter what you told Bailey not to do, she found a way to do it anyway. It was one of the things that Avalon liked and hated about her sister. At this point, it was something that she hated, as all she could hear about now was 'power rangers' this and 'command center' that or 'Billy said this' or 'Billy says that'.

 _If Bailey wasn't my sister, I'd kill her._ Avalon smiled a little. She was glad that Bailey was having such a good time though. She had friends in school and was getting stellar grades and now she was getting along with the other rangers, even though she was much younger than the rest of them, by at least seven years. And even though she would rather not have Bailey be dragged into everything with the power rangers, whom she idolized them ever since they had gotten to Los Angeles, she was glad that her little sister was able to stay out of trouble. _Unlike me, who does nothing but cause trouble._

With a light shake of her head, Avalon tuned back into the conversation that Billy and Bailey were having. She couldn't understand half of what they were saying, but she hadn't seen Bailey so into a conversation before.

"So what does it do?" Bailey was asking. "I mean, I get the notion of how the zords are powered, but what really causes the power that it uses?"

"Well, it really all stems from-"

"Can we, _please_ , talk about something else?" Avalon threw her hands up into the air. "Anything else? I'd even want to talk about this _stupid_ project." She slapped her hand against her notebook. The slap caused Zack to shoot to attention, dropping his headphones down to his neck.

"Did I miss something important?" He asked, looking at Avalon.

She shook her head. "Not unless you want to sit here listening to Frick and Frack go on and on about how things in the command center work, Twinkle Toes." She gave Zack a pointed stare. "And I mean the science behind all of it, mate."

Bailey blushed as she stuck her tongue out at her older sister. "There's nothing wrong with enjoying science," she said defensively. She looked at Billy out of the corner of her eye before she took her smoothie and took a long sip of it. "Besides, Billy's offering to help me get acquainted with everything, I'm going to need to know it if I'm going to help you guys."

Avalon snorted and shook her head. She reached for her pager, to see if someone was trying to reach her, then clenched her hands into fists when she remembered that it wasn't there. Ever since that morning when she, lost in thought, had slipped up and almost gotten caught by the principal with it, she wasn't going to make a mistake of bringing it out in public again unless she absolutely needed it. For a while she had been so good at keeping it on her, then she got a message when she was sure that she was alone and the principal, who just so happened to be walking through the empty hall at the time, demanded what it was, she talked her way out of getting in trouble about it.

Now she was looking around for a cell phone, just so it would be easier. Plus, she didn't want to have to explain what it was for to any of the others. It was hard enough convincing Zack and Billy to always meet up at Ernie's or one of their houses to work on the project, just to be sure they didn't find out about hers and Bailey's home life. She didn't need to bring the gang into it as well; it would just drive her crazy. But now that Bailey was brought into it, she felt like she was going to completely crack at some point.

 _Though this is my fault,_ Avalon reminded herself, twirling her pen around her fingers. _I'm the one that's still going around trying to get money for us, which is important. But then I had to go and get wrapped up in this saving the world thing and bring Bailey into it too._ She gazed over at her sister, who was listening intently to what Billy was telling her.

"Why don't I just show you my theories about it the next time we're at the command center?" Billy was suggesting as Avalon tuned back in. "It'll be much more susceptible than trying to explain it all."

The rangers looked around as Zack's morpher went off. Avalon let out a sigh, resting her hand against her forehead for a brief moment before Zack and Billy motioned for her and Bailey to follow them over to a secluded corner of the juice bar.

"Looks like you're getting your wish," Avalon said to Bailey.

"What's going on, Alpha?" Zack asked into his communicator.

"We need you here at the Command Center immediately!" Alpha replied.

"We're on our way," Billy said. He nodded over at Zack and Avalon before the four of them were transported to the Command Center. Jason, Kimberly, Trini, and Tommy were already there, casting worried glances to the viewing globe. "What's going on?"

"It seems that Rita and Zed have started to attack the downtown area," Zordon explained. "You rangers need to split up and stop them before more people get hurt."

"Kim, Jason, Trini and I'll go after Rita's monster," Tommy said, immediately dividing the team up. He then turned to Zack, Billy, and Avalon. "You three go after Zedd's monster. We need to show them that we're not afraid of what they throw at us."

"Right," Billy and Trini agreed.

"Bailey," Alpha turned to Avalon's sister. "You stay here and help us get the zords prepped in case the rangers need their help."

"Got it," Bailey said. She turned and went to a control panel, starting to scan over the button and levers.

"Everyone ready?" Tommy asked, looking around at the group.

"Ready!" Came the unanimous reply.

"All right. It's morphin' time!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Tiger Zord!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber Tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

* * *

 

Avalon, Billy, and Zack arrived downtown and immediately started to attack the putties that surrounded them. Avalon rocked back and forth on her feet, her fists by her face as the putties encircled her, waving their arms and legs. She punched and kicked at the putties, causing a few of them to disintegrate pretty quickly. But the more she would defeat, the more would pop up into her face.

"Ugh!"

Avalon was hit in the chest by a kick from one of the putties and crashed to the ground. Another putties moved to kick at her helmet covered head and she quickly did a kick-up back to her feet and aimed a roundhouse kick to the putties' chest.

"Avalon!" Zack appeared at her side, his fists up as well. It was a little jarring for her to see the people that she went to school with in their ranger suits. She wasn't even used to being in one herself, but the extra surge of power kept the thought in the back of her mind as well as making sure that she was keeping her sister safe. "Are you ok?"

"Never better," Avalon replied with a smirk.

"Hiya!" Billy attacked another putty and the three of them turned to Zedd's monster, which continued to run after the civilians that were trying to get away from it. "Whoa!" He cried when he saw it attack a car with a screaming family inside, blocking them from escaping. "Their monsters are getting out of control now."

"Looks like we're going to have to teach them whose boss," Avalon agreed. She held out her hand. "Power Staff!"

"Power Lance!" Billy called.

"Power Axe!"

Their weapons in hand, the Black, Blue, and Orange rangers rushed over to the monster. Avalon brought her staff back and spun it in a quick circle before bring it down onto the monster's side. The monster, enraged, turned and hit Avalon in the chest, sending her flying back to the ground. Billy and Zack then moved forward and started to attack the monster, giving Avalon time to get back to her feet and join the fray. When she moved to attack the monster again, he caught her off guard and slammed into her side, knocking her over.

 _What the?_ Avalon clutched her side as she writhed on the ground. Placing a hand on her chest, she fought to catch her breath. As she gazed up at the monster above her, she clenched her hand into a shaking fist, nothing short of frustrated. She figured that being able to defeat the monsters would be easy. The last few ones were and she had hardly broken a sweat then. Now she was fighting just as hard as she would with her friends and she was getting her ass handed to her. _I'm not going down without a fight, even if I have to exhaust myself to do it._

"Let's attack together!" Zack declared. "There's no way that he can block all of us!"

"The best defense is an even greater offense," Billy agreed. "If we attack from three different sides, we can wear him out and win!"

"Sounds good to me!" Avalon agreed. She tightened the grip on her staff, clenching her teeth. "His ass is mine!" Jumping high into the air, Avalon swung her staff down onto the monster's head. Turning her head, she said Billy and Zack attacking him from the sides. As they continued to fight, their weapons started to glow.

"Let's do this!" Zack commanded.

"Right!" Avalon said.

"Affirmative," Billy agreed.

The three waited for a moment as their weapons charged up and when they were charged all the way, before striking all at once. The monster let out a scream of agony and fell to the ground, completely destroyed.

"All right!" Zack cheered.

"Now let's go help the others!" Billy said.

The three of them teleported over to the other side of the city where Jason, Trini, Kimberly, and Tommy were doing their best to defeat Rita's monster. As soon as they arrived, Rita's wand came out of the sky and made the monster grow to the size of a building.

"Geez," Avalon muttered to herself, tilting her head back as she watched the monster get bigger.

"Get used to it," Trini said to her. "Rita and Zedd use this as a last resort to be sure that they can try and catch us off guard." She bent her knees and held her arms out as the monster stomped on the ground, causing the ground around them to shake. "But we know how to handle them!"

"We need Megazord power, now!"

The rangers called upon their zords and jumped into the cockpit. Tommy's white tiger zord transformed into its upright Megazord form as Jason's, Kimberly's, Trini's, Zack's, and Billy's zords all came together to create their own Megazord.

Avalon grabbed the controls of her own zord and lined it up next to the other two. "Av!" Bailey's voice suddenly filled her zord. "Your zord can't transform into a Megazord like the others, but it has the ability to attach onto the other Megazords to be used as an extra weapon."

"Sounds good," Avalon replied. She looked up as there was a crashing sound and noticed that the monster had the Megazord and the White Tiger Megazord locked in battle. Sparks were flying as the monster and the zords managed to hit each other. Avalon gritted her teeth as she grabbed onto the controls and caused her zord to start to spin, gathering energy as it did so. "Stega Strike!"

Her zord shot forward and cannoned into the monster. The force of the attack combined with the sword strike that the Megazord gave it, caused it to fall to the ground, rolling around in pain. Tommy then moved his zord forward to attack it as well, giving it a solid hit, too. The monster struggled to get back to its feet to attack them once more.

"You should try using our zord on another one's to see how that'll help," Bailey suggested.

"If you say so," Avalon hesitated. She pressed a white button on her control panel and hers and Tommy's zords reacted to it. His zord detached an arm and her zord took its place, turning into a large, spiky shield. Avalon's eyes widened as her seat started to move. A second later, she found herself in the cockpit of the Tiger Zord, her chair aligned behind Tommy's. "Ace." She gave an impressed smile. "Do what you need to, Tommo." Reaching to the side, she pushed a bright green button and could feel her zord gaining power.

"You got it!" Tommy agreed.

Tommy reached out in front of him and grabbed onto the controls. He moved the zord so Avalon's zord swung and blocked an attack from the monster. Then he positioned her zord so that the spikes from the Stegosaurus slashed the monster across its front.

Avalon gasped as a pain seared through her head. She closed her eyes tightly. The sound of a heart beat filled her head. It was erratic. After a moment of hesitation, she recognized it as hers. Taking a deep breath, Avalon willed her heartbeat to slow down. When se calmed, she got a clear image in her head of the perfect place to strike the monster. Avalon's eyes opened and she watched as Jason piloted the Megazord, the sword hitting the monster in the side. As she thought, the monster pushed them back and hit them across the face, spiraling them to the ground.

"Looks like we're going to have to try a different tactic," Zack said. Avalon could hear the weariness in his voice.

"Why don't we try and up close attack?" Trini suggested. "Give it little space to move away and to anticipate our move."

Avalon finally spoke up. "Hit it in the lower left, that's its weak spot."

"How do you know, Avalon?" Kimberly sounded skeptical. "It doesn't seem like we'll be able to get close enough to attack it."

"I don't know how I know," Avalon admitted. "I…just have a feeling."

"We might as well try it," Billy came to her defense. "It doesn't seem like anything else is working for us."

"Ok." Tommy took the command. "Get around it, close it off on both sides, then we'll attack at once. Move as fast as you can, so it can't figure out what we're doing."

"Got it."

Tommy and Jason moved the zords around so that they fell into a good position for the monster to try and figure out for itself, which one to attack first. It was trapped. Tommy used Avalon's Megazord once more, using the spikes as a blade. When the monster stumbled back he used his Tiger Zord's strongest attack, a beam of energy from the jewel in the tiger's mouth. The Megazord then coupled it with a slash from its own sword and the monster fell to the ground, exploding in a shower of sparks and fire.

"Yes!" Kimberly cheered.

"Nice job, Avalon." Trini said. Avalon couldn't help but smile to herself. She had actually done something to help them. She had been so skeptical about all of it before and now they were able to defeat a monster.

But there was still big things that bothered her; will she ever get to the point where she could trust them with her secret? What was it that she was able to do in the middle of the battle? And would it all be worth it in the end?

"Great job, Rangers," Jason added. "Let's get back to the Command Center."

The Rangers went back to the Command Center, where Bailey, Alpha, and Zordon were waiting for them. As soon as they arrived, Bailey was already bouncing on the balls of her feet, talking a mile a minute about how good of a job they did. Avalon smiled to herself as she took off her helmet and used one arm to hold it to her side, using the other to give Bailey a one-armed hug.

"Thanks for the advice, Bay," Avalon said to her.

"No problem." Bailey gave a proud smile before turning to address the rest of the rangers. "Zordon explained to me that the Stegosaurus zord would have the ability to attach onto other zords to give them a more powerful weapon, and even though it hadn't been tested before, I thought that this moment would be the most plausible moment to take advantage of the situation."

"And you saved our butts," Zack said with a grin. He reached out and slapped her on the shoulder before ruffling her hair. "Good going, kid."

"Well, it was all from Billy's idea, actually," Bailey said. She turned and looked at Billy. "He said that each of the zords had their own source of power, so I figured that if you interchange the zords, it might work." She shrugged modestly. "Now I'm just doing experiments on the rest of Avalon's weapons and the hydraulics on her zords to see if it can be brought up to the same kind of power that your guys' is."

"Uh-oh." Kimberly laughed, though she looked at Bailey with admiration. "Looks like we have another Billy with us."

"Now you know how I feel," Avalon said sarcastically.

"Actually, it could be really helpful for us," Billy spoke up. He walked over and placed a hand on Bailey's shoulder. "If I'm not here, she could use some of my plans or work on her own to make sure that our weapons and zords are up to par." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'd be honored if you could work alongside me and Alpha."

"Cool!" Bailey said with an excited smile.

"Great." Avalon rolled her eyes. "Looks like I'm really stuck with you guys now. Especially Smurf." She moved her helmet to the front and now held it with both hands. "Now I have to continuously come here to make sure that she doesn't blow up the Command Center with one of her crazy experiments."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Trini pointed out.

"I'm still trying to figure that out," Avalon said after a minute.

"You did a really good job when it came to fighting alongside us today," Jason said, turning to her. Behind him, Tommy nodded. "You really stepped up to the plate and wouldn't quit until the monsters were defeated and that's all that we could ask for being a ranger."

 _That's almost the exact same thing that Chase told me when I joined them._ Avalon tried not to laugh out loud at the irony. _I hope I didn't miss anything too important today._ She formed a fist with her gloved hand, suddenly overrun by anxiety. She hoped that there was never going to a moment in time where she would have to choose between both of her obligations or else she knew that she would make a very bad decision.

"We're glad to have you as part of the team," Tommy added, holding out his gloved hand towards her. Avalon moved her helmet and grabbed onto his hand, shaking it firmly. It was different than shaking Jason's hand, confirming that she would help them. This time, she knew that they had all accepted her as part of the team, as someone that could help. Before, she could feel the skepticism that radiated off of them. Hopefully she could help them and still be able to provide a good life for her and her sister.

"You rangers need to be careful of keeping Avalon's identity as the orange ranger a secret from Rita," Zordon said, grabbing everyone's attention. "If she knew that she and Bailey were working with you guys, they would be immediate targets for all of their plans. Who knows what she would do if she got any of them in her grasp."

"Don't worry," Trini said. She stepped up next to Kimberly and the two nodded at each other. "We'll do our best to make sure that the two of them are safe."

"So what does that mean?" Avalon asked, brushing her long, dark hair behind her shoulders. "I can't fight along with you guys? I have to run and hide each time Rita or Zedd shoots one of their monsters or the putties down to Angel Grove?" She was a little frustrated. She just agreed to help them with their problems and now she was being pushed back to the sidelines, as a last resort.

Alpha must have noticed her distress, for he put his hands up and shuffled over to her. "Ay yi y yi yi yi! No, Avalon! We just want you to be careful! You and Bailey."

Avalon nodded slowly. "Well, I've done a good job of keeping her out of trouble so far, I think I can do it a little bit longer." She smirked as Bailey gave a light roll of her eyes, though she was smiling.

"We'll make sure that Avalon and Bailey are safe," Tommy confirmed. "I don't know where we would be without them today, but I can honestly say that we're glad that they're a part of our team."

Avalon looked over at Bailey and noticed her proud and excited smile and wondered if she, herself, was ever going to be able to smile like that again. If she would be able to do anything without feeling guilty or stressed ever again. She wasn't sure how long it would take, but she was going to get back to those moments where she could really be herself instead of hiding behind a façade.

It would take a while, but she vowed that she would be able to get to that feeling, even if it killed her.

* * *

 

Wincing, Avalon followed Bailey into their apartment, turning on the lights as they went. She held a hand to her side, clenching her teeth as she twisted to close the door behind the two of them.

"I'm tired of coming to an empty home," Bailey complained quietly. With that one sentence, the excitement of that day's battle had dwindled away and they were back in their harsh reality. The two of them alone, trying to get by each and every day.

"What do you expect me to do?" Avalon asked warily. "Get married in the next few weeks?" She gave a wicked smile. "I'd suggest Billy, but then _you_ couldn't date him."

Bailey stopped her in her tracks before tossing a quick, "What are you talking about?" over her shoulder. Bailey flushed as she turned back to look at her sister, causing Avalon's smile to grow. "Seriously, I don't know what you're talking about." She shifted her gaze to the ground as her face turned redder. "I don't have a crush on Billy."

"No worries, Bay." Avalon raised a hand. The evil smile fell off of her face and she smirked at her sister as she rubbed her arm. "I'm only kidding. Sheesh, you can take things a little too seriously." Avalon winked at her sister before she moved to walk into the living room.

Bailey reached out and punched her sister on the arm as she passed. "Boofhead!"

"You want to lose that hand?" Avalon warned over her shoulder.

"No," Bailey laughed. She hurried past her sister into the living room and sat down on the couch, reaching for her laptop. She turned it on, the screen lighting up her face. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she looked seriously at Avalon, who sat down in the chair across from her, and then started to dig her finger into the couch cushion. "Well…why don't we just find Mum and Dad and-"

"Good luck with that," Avalon interrupted. "Do _you_ know how to find a woman that's constantly on the run trying to get drug money? Finding Dad would be easier, but he's constantly chasing after Mum, so I doubt that would work too." She closed her eyes and reclined the chair, resting an arm over her face. "Whatever. You're smart; you can probably figure it out."

Bailey was silent for a long moment. "Why don't you want to find them?"

Avalon kept her eyes closed. "I didn't say that, Bay."

"I know, but you're constantly changing the subject when it comes to them and you don't even want to try and find them," Bailey said slowly. At the sound of her voice, Avalon opened her eyes again and looked over at her little sister. "Do you hate them that much?"

Avalon was quiet for a long time. Finally, she lowered the footrest and brought the recliner to its original position. "You may be a genius Bay, but you're too young to understand."

She got to her feet and went to her room, closing the door behind her. Walking over to her bed, her dark brown eyes moved over to the photo that was turned down on her bedside table. Sitting on her bed, she picked it up and glanced at it. It was a picture of her, Bailey, and her parents a long time before. The two girls were up in their parents' arms, smiling widely as their parents smiled proudly. She briefly put it back down, turning her head away, trying to hold back the feeling of wanting to cry. But the feeling got too strong for her to ignore. Avalon sighed as she picked up the picture once more. She studied it before setting it back onto the table and bringing her knees up.

Wrapping her arms around her legs, she rested her forehead against her legs and started to cry.

…

..

.

"So that's the Orange Ranger's secret?" Rita smiled gleefully as she pulled away from her telescope. "She misses her little Mommy and Daddy, well, I'm sure that we can use that to our advantage!"

Rita laughed evilly.


	6. Catching Up

**Chapter 06**

* * *

 

"So if you want to go after the orange ranger, why are we wasting so much time watching her?" Zedd demanded, looking over at Rita. She was sitting in front of her telescope, looking down at Earth, a pensive look on her face. "At this point we could have her and would be in the middle of training her to destroy the power rangers."

"You underestimate me, Zeddy," Rita replied. "Why do you think that I've been sending out some of my more…weak monsters?" She stood up and turned away from the telescope. "With their powers to be able to use the Thunderzords, they would be able to destroy them quickly."

"Get to the point!" Zedd snapped. He twisted his 'Z' scepter in his hand, impatiently pacing back and forth as he continued to look down on earth.

Down where all of those _happy_ people lived. Down where they constantly went on with their lives, as if nothing was bothering them and nothing could ever happen to them. It made him sick just to think about it. They needed someone to take them over, to show them how things were supposed to go. Even if he and Rita manage to do just that, there was always going to be something that got in the way. If the new ranger was that something, they needed to get rid of her or brainwash her before it was too late. She was taking too long and a plan was already forming in his head.

"So I'm trying to see what her powers are like, whether or not she will go along with them," Rita said. She turned to face Zedd, a maliciously evil smile on her face. "It seems to me that she doesn't want to do this. She already has her other group of friends to deal with. I predict that having to go back and forth is eventually going to run her down. We can attack her then."

"And what do you propose that we do until that moment in time?" Zedd demanded.

"Continue to gauge her powers," Rita said calmly, though there was an annoyed edge to her tone. She glanced at her husband with a look of slight contempt. He crossed his arms back over his chest, waiting for her to further explain her plan. "But we need to keep the other rangers at bay, if we have to destroy them and keep the orange ranger, so be it. The world will be ours."

"And what sort of monster do you think will work this time?" Zedd continued. Rita hesitated in replying. There were so many objects and ideas that they had for monsters and they continued to be defeated each and every time. They needed to think of something else, something that would keep them busy for a long time. "Get out of my way!" Zedd pushed Rita back and stepped up to the barrier of the balcony.

"May I make a suggestion?" Rita and Zedd turned around to see Goldar standing behind them. He walked over to the balcony, his wings gently fluttering behind him. "I have been watching the rangers as you've asked. They all seem ready to welcome the orange ranger with open arms, but she seems hesitant to do the same in return. It might be best to separate her from the others to gauge her power before you take them on. Let me fight her!"

"What? You?!" Rita let out a loud cackle. "If you fought her, you know that the other rangers would stop you before you even got close."

"Please, allow me the honor!" Goldar continued.

"We'll save you for a last resort," Zedd snapped. "Let me think." He looked down on the earth. He got nauseous just watching all of those happy people walk around. There wasn't much interesting going on there, nothing that would be of importance to him. "Hmmm." Letting out a low humming sound, Zedd watched as a teenage girl and guy talked to each other, looking over a newspaper. Getting a closer look, he saw that they were looking at their horoscopes. "That's what I'll do!"

Zedd lifted his scepter and a red bolt of electricity shot down to earth. It crackled and sizzled for a few moments before it returned to the tower in thirteen bolts of lights. Once the lightning cleared, thirteen monsters stood in front of them, all made out from the signs of the zodiac as well as the idea of horoscopes in general; A ram, a bull, twins, a crab, a lion, a maiden, a set of scales, a scorpion, an archer, a goat, a water bearer, a fish, and a mage.

"These are the monsters that will keep the rangers busy as we take over the earth," Zedd explained. "These are the monsters that will destroy the power rangers once and for all!" He raised his scepter into the air and laughed evilly.

* * *

 

Trini sucked in a deep breath as she spread her arms out in front of her, and then slowly extended them out to her sides. She lifted her right leg, balancing on her left, and extended it out, stretching herself, lowering her body close to the ground. Once she felt that she stretched her legs enough, she brought herself back up into a standing position. Beside her the sound of someone crashing to the ground caught her attention. She looked over and laughed when she saw Billy lying on the ground on his back.

"You make Kata and all of the Praying Mantis Kun Fu seem a lot easier than it is," Billy said. He pushed his glasses up his nose, trying to catch his breath. Trini giggled and leaned over, grabbing onto his hand, pulling him to his feet. Her feet squished into the mat with the force of pulling him up.

"I should. I've been practicing it for years," Trini said. She patted Billy on the shoulder as he smiled. "It's not so hard, you've been improving. Working with Jason on martial arts has been helping you, too." She took a few steps away from him. "Now there's another move that I want to show you that I think could really help. But it needs a lot of balance and core strength, so don't be discouraged if you don't get it as quickly as you want."

Billy nodded. He pushed his glasses up his nose once more and watched as Trini moved through the poses and kicks of the fight move. He took the time to glance around Ernie's. It was as full as it usually was for a weekend, with smiling, laughing, and happy teenagers. It was a bit strange to be able to go through most of the day without some sort of an interruption from Rita and Zedd and their monsters. It was nice to be able to take a breather sometimes. It was times like these he wondered what it was like to still be a normal teenager, to not have to worry about monsters, and being attacked and the threat of being destroyed on a daily basis. It had been a while since all he thought about was school and his future education, his science experiments for fun, and tinkering with new inventions. Now he was constantly thinking of Rita and Zedd and what new weapons he could make or figure out the power source to their zords and accessories.

Sometimes he wondered if it was all worth it, not being able to live a normal life anymore, knowing that his family would be devastated if something happened to him while he was in battle.

"Billy, are you listening to me?" Trini waved a hand in front of Billy's face, hoping to get his attention. He blinked and looked at her, suddenly smiling. Trini frowned in concern. "Are you ok? You don't really seem like yourself."

"I'm fine," Billy said quickly. "I'm just…confused about a lot of things." Trini continued to gaze at him, silently urging him to continue. Billy waved her over to an empty table and the two sat down across from each other. He took a minute before continuing. "I don't understand why there was a need for another ranger. Not that I'm not glad that Avalon is now part of our team, but what could possibly be coming that she was needed? Would we not have been able to defeat Rita and Zedd on our own?" Trini nodded, understanding his concerns. "Then, of course, what sort of power can she bring to us? We already have Tommy's power of light, being the new white ranger and everything."

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Trini agreed. "What else could Rita and Zedd throw our way? What if they finally figure out a monster that we can't destroy and they do take over the earth?" She pulled her hair out of the yellow scrunchie that was holding it back and re-tied it. "I've been wondering the same things too. But you have to stay positive. With Avalon _and_ Bailey, we can only hope that we can drive away Rita and Zedd for good."

"But there're still a lot of things that we don't know," Billy continued. "And the not knowing is what's bothering me."

"Billy." Trini reached out and grabbed onto his hand. "We're all in this together. You can't forget that we're a team and that we're going to be sure that we can protect earth to the best of our abilities." She squeezed his hand. "We're going to do this together, right?"

Billy smiled and nodded back. "Right."

"Hey guys!" Kimberly was all smiles as she weaved her way through Ernie's, moving around the tables that were close together. Her light pink, flowery sundress billowed around her as she went. She reached their table as Jason, Zack, and Tommy entered the local hang out behind her.

"Hey!" Trini let go of Billy's hand and stood up to give her a hug. "What's going on?"

"We thought that it would be a good idea to go and have a picnic in the park," Kimberly said. She looked at the boys behind her, who nodded in agreement, bright smiles on their faces as well. "Just take some time to relax and to have fun and to just hang out."

"And it'll also be a good time to explain to Avalon and Bailey everything that we've been through since Rita had first come back to earth," Tommy added. "So they can understand what's going on and how important they are to the team."

"It'll be a good time to get to know them as well," Jason agreed.

"And to put off our homework even more," Zack said. He laughed and Kimberly reached out, lightly hitting him on the arm. Trini smiled and pushed her chair in to the table as Billy stood up as well.

"That sounds like a great idea," she said. "Let's go!" The group started to walk out of Ernie's. Kimberly caught up with Trini and looped her arm through her best friend's. Trini gave a started laugh when she got a good look at the smile on Kimberly's face. "What? What's so funny?"

"I saw you holding hands with Billy," Kimberly said.

"Oh." Trini blushed. "That wasn't anything. We were just talking about everything with our powers and stuff," she explained. With a dismissive wave of her hand, she hoped to turn Kimberly's attention off of her. "It was nothing."

"I know what hand holding is like, and that was not 'nothing'," Kimberly insisted. She squeezed Trini's arm, leaning into her best friend's side. "You have to tell me _everything_ later, ok?"

"Fine." Trini smiled.

…

..

.

Avalon ran a hand over her face, brushing off sea water. Sitting on a surfboard, she bobbed up and down in the water, watching as the waves rolled into the shower. On the beach, Bailey was sitting on a towel, her face shielded by a pair of large sunglasses. She was watching Avalon's stuff, while her sister was getting some surf practice in. Avalon glanced over her shoulder, watching to make sure that Bailey was still sitting on the towel. Her attention was turned back to the ocean when she heard a low rumbling sound. A wave was coming her way.

Smiling to herself, Avalon got down on her stomach, her coconut scented surf wax filling her nose, and started to power her arms through the water. A light spray came up around her as she continued to paddle her arms, going straight towards the wave. When she was close enough, she stuck her right arm in the water and powered her left one, turning herself around in a circle so that she was facing the shore. Once in position, she started to paddle again. Feeling the wave started to lift her up, she paddled harder and leapt to her feet. Shifting her right foot forward, Avalon moved her weight to the front of the board and went screaming down the face of the wave.

Her momentum picked up and she streaked down the bottom of the wave. Bending her knees, her body undulated along with the curve of the wave. Sticking her left arm into the wall of water, she angled herself up the wave and into the air. Grabbing the board with her right hand, she twisted it to the side, her top half going the other way, and let go, bending her knees as she landed back down. A spray of water hit her in the face, she sputtered a little but continued to ride the wave to the shore.

"Good job, Av!" Bailey cried. She was standing at the shore, hands cupped over her eyes as she waited. She was bouncing up and down on her toes in excitement. "I haven't seen you shred up an ace wave like that in a long time!"

"Thanks!" Avalon beamed, her surfboard tucked under her arm. She walked over to her towel and shoved the nose of the surfboard into the sand. Grabbing her long braid, she pulled it over her shoulder and wrung it out, purposefully getting Avalon wet. Bailey squealed and jumped back away from her, her cheeks sunburnt, standing red behind the blue tinted sunglasses. "You're such a wimp, Bay."

"Rack off, Av!" Bailey shoved her.

Avalon's laughter was cut short at the sound of her communicator going off. A chill went down her spine and she fell to her knees, digging through her bag for it. She pulled it out of the front pocket, glancing briefly at her pager and cell phone, hoping she didn't get any other messages from Chase or the others. Seeing that she didn't, she picked up her communicator and brought it up to her mouth.

"What's up?" She asked breathlessly.

"Avalon, can you come meet us in the park?" Zack's voice came over the communicator. "We need to talk to you and Bailey about some stuff."

"Alright, we'll be there soon," Avalon said. She turned to Bailey and started to pack up their things. "C'mon, the guys need us at the park. It might be a monster or something." Bailey hurriedly packed up their things beside her.

"But if it were a monster, wouldn't Zordon have contacted you?" Bailey brought up a good point. So far, whenever it was a monster attack, Zordon or Alpha would have let them know what was going on and where to go. But for all they knew, the command center could have been attacked by something.

"We won't know until we get there." Avalon pulled on a pair of jean shorts and a tie-front orange crop top over her bikini before grabbing her bag and towel, tucking her surfboard under her arm. "This way." She motioned over to the abandoned lifeguard stand that was further down the beach and the two hurried over. Once they were safely behind it, Avalon instructed Bailey to grab onto her arm and she used her communicator to teleport themselves to the park.

"Avalon! Over here!"

Avalon and Bailey headed towards the voice and saw Jason waving the two of them over. Avalon let out a sigh of relief when she saw that there wasn't a monster anywhere and they walked over. Once reaching them, she dropped her surfboard to the ground. "What's going on?" Her eyes scanned the food that was spread out on the blankets around them. "We having a picnic or something?"

"Ace!" Bailey cried. She switched out her sunglasses for her glasses and plopped down on a blanket next to Tommy. "I'm starving!" Avalon slowly sat down in the space that was left over between Jason and Billy, crossing her legs. She tilted her head to the side, eyes scanning the food, and lifted her hands, starting to unbraid her hair.

 _I wonder how much of this stuff we can take home. It'll take up the time it would take to find more money and get to the grocery store._ Avalon felt guilt the second the thought crossed her mind. Here she was, invited on a picnic, and she was thinking about how she was going to get most of the food back home for her and Bailey to keep from having to find more money later. It would be selfish if it wasn't a reality they always had to face.

"Help yourselves," Trini offered. "We have plenty. Besides, it's probably one of our few days where we can just hang out instead of having to worry about monster attacks and everything."

Jason handed Avalon a plate before he started to fill up his own with the assortment of food. Bailey got up on her knees and started to pick up everything that was placed in front of her, effectively loading her plate with so much food that it started to bend under the weight. Tommy laughed when he caught sight of it and leaned over, ruffling Bailey's hair. "Looks like you've got a big appetite. Take as much as you want."

"But she might get sick," Kimberly protested. "With all of that food?"

"She can put it away, trust me," Avalon commented lazily. Bailey stuck her tongue out at her and Avalon did the same in reply. The rangers laughed and started to dig into their food. "So…you only wanted us to drop by for some lunch?"

"Well, we wanted to catch you up with everything that's been going on, too," Jason admitted. He crossed his legs, resting the edges of his plate on his knees. He was silent for a moment. "When everything first started, we were just five teenagers that wanted to have fun and do whatever we could to do it. But then there was a earthquake one day and we were teleported to the command center." He smiled a little. "Everything was so strange at first, we didn't know where we were or what happened or why there was a robot that was able to talk to us."

"Billy and Jason seemed to be the only ones that were excited about the whole thing," Trini added. "for different reasons. Billy wanted to know how Alpha worked and really wanted to try and take him apart to figure out how." She laughed to herself, causing Billy to look a little embarrassed. "And after Zordon told us about how we were able to morph into the power rangers, Jason was the one that thought that we should go ahead and do it."

Avalon's eyebrows rose. She looked over Zack, Kimberly, Trini, and Billy with surprise. "You guys didn't want to do it?" When they shook their heads, she nodded slowly. _So they weren't the only ones that were worried about the whole thing._ "What made you change your minds?"

"When we tried to walk all the way back to Angel Grove, putties attacked us," Jason started the explanation again. Avalon turned to him, picking at her lunch as she listened to the story. "At first, they beat us badly, but when we put our minds to it, we were able to fight them back. Then Rita sent out Goldar and we morphed into the power rangers to be able to defeat him." He shrugged. "Of course that wasn't the way that things were going to stay."

"So she started to send out monsters that could get bigger?" Avalon nodded slowly.

"Affirmative." Billy now grabbed her attention. "Rita got smart and figured that if we could fend of Goldar while we were the power rangers, then it would be harder for us to do so if we were just that and her monsters got stronger."

"Which is where the power of our zords came in," Trini concluded.

"But then where does Tommy come in?" Bailey mumbled. Her cheeks were bulging with food. Her eyes being bigger behind her glasses and her big cheeks made her look like a chipmunk. The rangers all laughed at her when they caught sight of her appearance.

Tommy's smile slowly faded. He reached up, scratching at his forehead. Kimberly laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. He placed his free hand on top of hers and smiled back at her before addressing Bailey and Avalon. "I was new at school and Rita figured out that I was a skilled martial arts fighter. She wanted to use me to defeat these guys." He licked his lips. "So she kidnapped me and gave me the powers of the green ranger. For a while, I was able to defeat them and took control of their zords. I destroyed the command center and even gave Alpha a virus." He shook Jason's shoulder. "But he destroyed my sword of darkness and Rita's magic was broken."

"For a while he fought along our side while he was still the green ranger," Zack said. He paused to take a bite of potato salad before continuing. "But Rita used a Green Candle to take his powers away."

Avalon's eyebrows lowered. _Whoa. You can get your powers away and your zord taken over? I thought that all of this stuff was pretty much invincible._ Her hands slowly curled into fists and she thought about the decision she had made. Was it now worth it? Or did she make a big mistake?

"Rita then kidnapped all of our parents in return for the Dragon Dagger, which Tommy used, and our power zords. But Goldar kept the power coins. But Jason showed that he still held onto the dragon power coin, which was Tommy's. We needed Tommy to use his powers to help us get ours back. Tommy's powers were eventually drained and he couldn't use them anyore. We all thought that it was the last that we would see of Tommy, but Zordon and Alpha were able to create new powers for him, making him the White Ranger."

"Ever since then we've continuously battled Rita, Zedd, and their monsters to be able to save Angel Grove and to keep them from taking over the earth," Kimberly said. She then smiled over at Avalon and Bailey. "And with you guys helping us now, we can be sure to keep that promise. We can defeat Rita and Zedd with you on our side."

Avalon gave a fleeting smile. "But what if we can't do it?"

"Don't think like that, Av!" Bailey cried. "It's been scientifically proven…the law of attraction. If you think negative thoughts, then you'll bring negativity onto you. You have to be positive, you can do it."

"I'm being realistic, not negative," Avalon said. "There's a difference." She placed her plate on the ground and rested her chin in her hands. Briefly closing her eyes, Avalon thought of everything that had been going on lately. This was bigger than her and Bailey, she had to stop being so selfish. If she wasn't needed, she wouldn't have been brought into this whole mess. She needed to stop being so selfish and actually start working with these guys. There were more lives at stake than hers and Bailey's. _But then there's what you're doing with Chase and them, to be sure that you have a good life and that no one finds out your secret. Now you put this secret on top of that. You're such a boofhead, Avalon._

"Don't worry if you get stressed or freak out," Zack said kindly. "You have a built in family with us. We have your back." Avalon's smile turned to a frown.

Zack studied her.

He didn't get it.

It seemed that she was warming up to them a little bit, especially since she agreed to join the rangers. Even just when they were talking she seemed to be loosening up a little bit and liked being around them. Now there was a cool air around her. He glanced at the others; they must have felt it too, for there was a bit of an awkward silence. Zack looked over at Tommy and Jason to see what they would do. He always went to them for guidance, Jason had always been a leader to him, and now even though Tommy was the leader for the rangers in general, he saw how well the two of them could work together, in battle and out. What were they thinking of the whole situation? They were just as open and welcoming to Avalon as everyone else was, and they seemed to be making a bit of progress. They were trying their hardest and nothing was working. There was a big brick wall that was keeping Avalon from completely joining their team. She was even cold and standoffish when they were at school. He didn't get what was about Bulk and Skull that had her so willing to hang out with them and even seem happy to hang out with them.

"Just know that we have faith in you," Billy added, placing a hand on her arm. Avalon jerked her arm away, as if she had been burned. Her frown deepened, a million confusing thoughts running through her head. It wasn't making anything easier. Letting out a slight growl, Avalon rubbed her hands over her face.

 _This is going to be harder than I thought_. She looked at her feet and sighed. She worked on her own. She would work with the group if she had to, but knew that when it all came down to it, she would figure out her own ways to deal with everything. _At least they were nice enough to invite us to this picnic._ She removed her hands from her face, the smile returning.

Picking up her hot dog, she took a bite and listened as the rangers told her stories of their battles. She always told Bailey not to sweat the small stuff and to live life in the moment. And that was exactly what she was going to do.


	7. Science Experiment

**Chapter 07**

_Science Experiment_

_"I'm going to make a batch of brownies."_

_"Being a power ranger means that you have to learn how to work on a team."_

_"What if it's a side effect to your powers? Though, I'm not sure that's entirely plausible. The rest of us have only felt an increase in strength."_

Avalon groaned and rubbed her temples with her fingers. How much longer was she going to have to deal with the voices? She had an idea what it was, having it happen a few times here and there, but it was starting to take its toll. Who wouldn't feel like they were going a little nuts because they could hear things other people couldn't? Bailey always said that she was a little crazy, maybe there was a bit of truth in it. Bailey was a genius; she could prove you wrong just as easily as she could be like an eleven year old kid.

 _Focus Av, you need to get this done._ Avalon leaned over the large sheet of paper that was in front of her, scanning it. There were blueprints of a neighborhood and what looked like floor plans of the houses in the same area. Twirling a pen in her hand, Avalon looked over the blueprints, her brown eyes scanning each house. She needed to have it memorized for the next time that she met up with Chase, Skye, and Summer. If they were going to do more hits, then they needed to be sure that they were going to the best houses and had to little to no chance of getting caught. They couldn't take any chances.

 _So we've gone here, here, and here…_ Avalon put a large 'X' in each of the boxes that represented houses. Sighing, she rested her chin in her hand. Looking it over, she realized that the houses were too close. If they were going to reduce the chance of getting caught, they were going to have to spread out a little. _I'm sure there are more rich neighborhoods around here, we should start going there._ Hearing footsteps coming down the hallway, Avalon quickly scrunched the paper up like an accordion and shoved it, notebooks, and pens underneath the table.

She sat back down just as Bailey walked into the living room. She glanced at Avalon curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Avalon said calmly. She watched as her sister beelined to the kitchen and started to pull out different sized pans and bowls. "What are you doing?" Bailey's voice filled her head and she answered before her sister could.

"I'm going to-"

"Oh, make a batch of brownies," Avalon cut in. She crossed her legs, twirling a piece of thread around her finger. She watched the tip turn purple before unwinding it again. All of her shirts were starting to become unthreaded. _We need to get some more clothes soon. That's always the biggest expense, clothes and food. Not including paying rent._ Avalon reached up and pulled her hair back into a ponytail, fastening it with a dark orange scrunchie. _"_ Who are they for?"

Bailey paused, holding up a cooling rack. As the seconds passed, her brown eyes continued to widen behind her glasses. "Av," she said slowly. "How did you know that I was going to make brownies?"

Avalon chewed on her bottom lip. Should she tell her? She usually told her sister everything; she was the only one that was constantly there for her, no matter how many mistakes she made. Bailey was even helping her and the other angers at the command center and was a great help in the last battle that they had. It seemed like she was finding her niche as well, being such a smart girl at such a young age made it hard for her to make friends and to be taken seriously. She was picked on a lot as she was growing up, but managed to tune it out the best she could, holding her head up high and continuing to do what she did best.

"Didn't you mention it before?" Avalon tried to push the attention off of her. Feeling Bailey's gaze burn a hole in her back, Avalon stuck out her foot and pushed her blueprints further under the table. "I'm sure you did. Last night when we were watching TV, yeah?"

"No." Bailey shook her head, her pigtails hitting her in the face. "I never said that I was going to make them. I just thought about it this morning." Once she had all of her utensils, she pulled eggs, flour, butter, milk, and brownie mix from the pantry.

"Well, who are they for?" Avalon hoped that her sister wouldn't notice she was trying to change the subject.

Of course that wasn't possible; the two girls noticed practically everything. Their father did say that they were always perceptive. So much so that Avalon was aware there was something wrong with her mother even before she knew what drugs were. Your mother wasn't supposed to be hauled up in her room all day and only come out when she went out at night to get more. The woman that she remembered to be incredibly beautiful, happy, and lively had turned into a recluse. The days of snuggling up to her mother to read a book or to watch TV, and even talk about school were long gone. Their mother was gone and their father was gone and there was nothing they could do about it but wait until they heard something from one of them.

"You didn't answer my question," Bailey pointed out.

"Neither did you." Avalon got up and walked over to the kitchen. Pulling out a stool, she sat down and watched as Bailey made brownies. "Is it for a boy?" She stuck her finger in the brownie mix and placed it in her mouth, the sweetness overloading her senses. "Do you like someone at school?"

"No, it's not for anyone at school," Bailey murmured. She tried to hide her face by holding up the cook book, but Avalon could see the blush that was rising on her cheeks.

"So who's it for?"

"Av!" Bailey stomped her foot. "Can't I just make some brownies without getting asked a billion questions?"

"Abigail, can't you answer a question without getting pissy about it." Avalon laughed. Reaching over to punch her on the arm, Bailey tilted her head down to concentrate on the creation of the desert with a mumble of 'don't call me Abigail'. "Geez, sorry _Bailey_ , I didn't mean to upset you."

"No worries," Bailey said. She quickly stuck her tongue out at her sister and Avalon did the same before smiling.

She sighed, lacing her fingers together. Keeping something from her sister, when it could get worse before it got better, was probably not a good idea. Not when they were already so deep in something that was so big. "Bay…I knew that you were going to make brownies because I heard you say it."

"I already told you, I never-"

"I know," Avalon interrupted. "You didn't tell me. But I heard you say it. I heard it, in my head." She took a deep breath, holding her sister's gaze. "I have a sense of what people are going to say before they say it. I can…I don't know, I can hear it….I can see some things too…It's not the first time. Is there a word for it?"

"Clairvoyance," Bailey dutifully replied. "It's used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses." She started to whisk the brownie mix. "In other words it's a form of extra-sensory perception."

"Thanks, Webster," Avalon snorted.

Clairvoyance? It sounded so weird. She never thought that it was a real thing. She had always been so skeptical about things that couldn't be explained. Hell, she was a Power Ranger and if she hadn't had read about them in the newspaper for days, she wouldn't have believed that either.

"That's not all," Avalon continued. She motioned over to the cabinet and pointed out a pot that she wanted Bailey to hand her. It was a large pot that could be used for corn, spaghetti, or if you wanted to boil a turkey, stainless steel. Bailey handed it to her and Avalon placed her hands on the sides of the pot. Bringing her hands together, she crushed the pot, melding the edges together as if it were hot metal being bent into shape. Bailey's mouth dropped open. "I can run, like, _really_ fast, too."

"Wow." Bailey's eyes lit up. "I've heard about 'super humans' before but I didn't think that my sister was one of them."

"Uh, I'm a power ranger, what d'you expect, mate?"

"Not this." Bailey suddenly looked thoughtful, rubbing her chin. "I need to document this. We need to figure out why this is happening." Placing her hands on her hips, she started to pace the kitchen. "Have any of the other rangers had this happen to them?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Avalon said. "They haven't said anything. But I haven't told them either, so…"

"We should talk to Billy about this," Bailey suggested. She pushed her glasses up her nose. Avalon looked at her skeptically. "Or go see Zordon and Alpha. Those three are the only ones that seem like they'll be able to give even a tiny bit of a logical explanation. You want answers don't you?" Avalon slowly nodded. "Then let's go!"

Avalon looked at her, her eyes narrowing. Bailey was a bit more excited than she thought she was going to be. Even more so than being able to do a sort of an experiment, to figure out why this was happening to her sister. There was something else going on.

"Ok." She finally said. "I'll go find Billy's address."

"I already have it," Bailey interrupted her. Avalon froze over the stool, mid way in getting off of it. She looked like she was trying to hatch an egg. "What?" Avalon continued to look at her. "Av. What?" Huffing, Bailey crossed her arms over her chest. "I have all of the rangers' addresses; you never know when you're going to need it.

Avalon slowly smiled. "Ok. Let's go." She held out her arm, using her free hand to hold onto her morpher. "Hold on tight."

* * *

 

Billy lifted a welding mask off of his forehead and replaced his glasses, frowning at the steaming hunk of metal and wires that was lying on the workbench in front of him. Who knew that a simple experiment to enhance their weaponry and machinery could be so difficult? He had major setbacks before, but this one took the cake. Sighing, Billy wiped sweat off of his forehead and turned back to the notes that he had sitting by him. He probably had to start all over again.

The door to the house opened and bright light filled the garage. "Billy, why don't you open the garage door? It's so dark in here!" His mother exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Mom, I have all of the means necessary to properly protect the functions of my eyes as well as to get my experimentations done," Billy said. He smiled, wiping his hands off on a rag. "The minimum of light makes it easier to see if the sensors I'm working on are fluctuating, they'll light up if a sufficient charge is going through."

"Well be careful," Mrs. Cranston cautioned. She started to step to the side, but then turned back to her son. "Oh and you have some friends waiting for you. Shall I send them out here?"

Billy nodded. As his mother left the doorway, he pressed a button on the wall and the garage door started to open. Hearing footsteps, he turned back around to see Avalon and Bailey walk into the garage. Bailey's eyes widened and she hurried over to his desk to look at his work in progress. "Salutations Avalon, Bailey."

"Hey." Avalon nodded her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket. She glanced around the garage. "Are you hard at work? Did we interrupt you?"

"I was just taking a break," Billy replied. He nodded over to the work bench. "I was hoping that I could make a new power grid for some of our weapons, but it hasn't been working well lately. If we give more power to our zords…" he ran a hand over his face, seemingly lost in thought. "Our fight against Rita and Zedd may get harder as times go on and they adapt to us. We need to be able to use every means that we can to beat them."

Avalon nodded. "I'm impressed, Smurf," she admitted. "The fact that you're able to do so much, I mean, you made my communicator and everything." She held up her wrist. "That was you, right? You made all of them?"

"Once I realized the significance to the power grid and morphing grid that Alpha and Zordon were using at the command center, it was only a matter of 'ticking the system', so to speak," Billy said, using air quotes around the words. He paused, glancing at her. "I hope that wasn't too confusing."

"I get the gis-"Bailey interrupted Avalon, suddenly appearing by her side.

"Don't worry if she doesn't get it, it's hard to explain things in a way that's easy for everyone to understand, sometimes." Bailey smiled at Billy and he smiled and laughed in reply.

"It can be frustrating sometimes," he agreed, kindly. He glanced back and forth between the two girls. "So what brings you by?"

"Right." Avalon shuffled her feet. All of a sudden, she wasn't sure whether or not she should tell him. It seemed really ridiculous. There were no such things as clairvoyants as far as anyone was concerned. Being a power ranger was strange enough. Besides, what if he laughed at her? She barely knew him as it was and now she was trusting him to keep this quiet from the other rangers until they got a sure answer. "You know what? No worries. Never mind." She held up her hands, starting to back away from him. "We just wanted to say 'hi' and now we're gonna go. C'mon, Bay."

"But Av, don't you want to tell him about-"

"There's nothing to tell him."

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack. Now _let's go_."

"But-"

"Bay!"

Billy watched the back and forth between the two sisters with a small smile on his face. It was obvious that they were really fond of each other, Avalon had come quickly and fought ruthlessly against the Savage Sardine when she found out that her little sister was in trouble. But their bickering was as normal as it was for them to get along. Clearly, they both had each other's interest at heart.

"Excuse me," Billy cut into the arguments. "Is there something that you need to tell me?"

"No.""Yes." The sisters looked at each other with contempt.

Billy studied the situation and took a breath, steadying himself to address Avalon. He had only known her for a short while and could already tell that she was someone that was stuck in her ways, choosing to go by what she believed in. He could see how she was going to be a good asset to the team, but also how it could be a bit dangerous if she didn't learn how to change. "Being a power ranger means that you have to learn how to work on a team." He felt silent, hearing Avalon finish the sentence with him. "How did you-?"

"That's what we want to tell you," Bailey said. "Avalon's' a clairvoyant…she knows things that are gonna happen before they do. She can…sense voices and things that are going to go wrong."

Billy's mouth dropped open. He wasn't completely against the idea, but science could easily disprove that. He had seen some crazy things since becoming a power ranger, he couldn't rule anything out. No matter how outlandish. He studied her; long dark hair, dark eyes, a small smattering of freckles around her nose and a confident attitude brought together her seriousness. He realized that it was true.

He racked his brain, trying to think of a reasonable explanation. "When did you first notice that you were able to do it?"

Avalon crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side. "I reckon sometime after I was given my powers," she said.

Billy nodded. "Let's think about it logically. What if it's a side effect to your powers?" He frowned, running a hand through his hair. "Though, I'm not sure that's entirely plausible. The rest of us have only felt an increase in strength as well as our fighting ability."

"So what do you think it is?" Bailey raised a finger in the air. "I think that it's a possible anomaly or a mutation."

"It's possible," Billy agreed.

"Yeah, but then why would it only be me that has to deal with it?' Avalon demanded. "Can you two smarty-pants answer that?!" Her eyes moved back and forth from Billy to Bailey and back again as she waited for an answer. She realized that she had been doing that a lot lately; waiting for answers, waiting for directions, waiting to be told what to do. Startled, Avalon blinked and dropped her arms. _Since when did I start to wait for people to tell me what to do? When did I start becoming a pushover?_

"Did anything significant happen to when you were still in Australia?" Billy got her attention.

 _You mean apart from my mum getting in drugs and dad chasing after her?_ Avalon shook her head. "Not that I can recall, Smurf. Why, what do you think it is?"

Billy was silent for a long time. "I think, maybe, if the mutation theory doesn't pan out. I think we may have found a new power source."

"And how does me being able to read minds, run fast, and lift crazy amounts of weight have a thing to do with a new power source?" Avalon stared hard at him.

"That, Avalon, is what we have to find out."


	8. Rita's and Zedd's Horoscope

**Chapter 08**

_Rita and Zedd's Horoscope_

* * *

 

"You're right Billy, this is something that we haven't seen with power rangers before," Zordon said, looking down at the blue ranger. "The other abilities that Avalon has…we need to be sure now more than ever that Rita and Zedd don't get to her or the rest of you rangers. If they knew of the abilities they may try even harder to capture you all to see if it's something that we can exploit out of all of you."

"What do you want us to do?" Billy placed his hands on his hips as he started to pace the command center. "Keep an eye on her at all times? I don't think that she would be very pleased with that." His eyebrows rose behind his glasses and he smirked a little bit. "Then again, I don't think any of us will be particularly pleased with the news. That would be put even more pressure on us than we already have, though she's new at this."

"Ai yi yi yi yi, we're not saying that you all have to _watch_ her," Alpha said quickly. "We're just saying that there are some things about her that you don't know." He turned to Zordon, who looked back at him quietly. Billy glanced at the two of them; it wasn't that strange for them to keep something from him and the other rangers until they really needed to know it. However, having it to be news about the new member of their team, things were very complicated. "You need to give her some time to get adjusted; this isn't something that's easy for everyone."

"I'm just saying that I don't understand how the rest of us could have transitioned into it's so easily and were so willing to help out." This was the first time that Billy outright expressed his feelings of the whole situation."We're all willing to help save the world from Rita and she doesn't want to do it."

"Avalon and Bailey have gone through some experiences that could have made them jaded in life," Zordon explained. "Just give them some time." He changed the subject, sensing Billy's distress and frustration. "But with this new power source, it's possible. The stegosaurus powers had been untouched since they were first created. The teams that we've had years ago, the stegosaurus ranger had only appeared a couple of times and we hadn't had been able to get a good grasp on what it could do. It's possible that it had been corrupted over the years that it had laid dormant. But it just might be the power that we need."

"Is there anything that you need me to do?" Billy took his glasses off and rubbed his nose and rubbed his face.

"You've done enough for today, Billy," Alpha said. He placed a hand on Alpha's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Don't worry about anything here. Zordon and I can handle everything here for now. When we need you we'll call you back."

Billy hesitated for a moment. Something this big and they wanted him to leave? He just hoped that they knew what they were doing. He nodded, letting out a sigh, and teleported out of the command center. Alpha and Zordon waited until they were sure he was gone, watching him on the viewing globe as he arrived at the park, meeting up with the other rangers as they played a game of basketball. They were a bit surprised to see Avalon and Bailey there as well, though Bailey seemed like she was trying to play while Avalon sat in the grass, playing around with a guitar.

"It's going to take a long time, Zordon," Alpha said. He turned back to the mystical being that floated in the power tube behind him. His eyes roved around the command center, thinking of everything that they had managed to do over the years while working with different teams of rangers.

They had seen them come and go, managing to keep the city and the world safe. It was the first team that they had a team of teenagers on their side and while Alpha was worried about them at first, he was pleasantly surprised to see that they were doing a great job with the powers that they were given. He could understand the anxiety that Billy had. He had it too when Zordon told him to teleport the orange ranger to the command center the first time. Seeing how she quickly dismissed everything, he was surprised, again, when she decided to keep the powers, instead of passing on it. When she fought, _really fought_ for the first time, it was evident that she was going to be a good addition to the team.

"I just hope that she can see it for herself and make a decision," Alpha said to himself. He extended his hands in front of him, wiggling his fingers. "Ok, Zordon, if we're going to find this new power source, we're going to have to start looking now."

* * *

 

"This is the perfect time that we can see how these new monsters are going to work out," Rita said, rubbing her hands together gleefully.

"Not yet!" Zedd snapped. He turned away from earth and trained his eyes on his wife. "You don't seem to understand the method behind my plans. We can't go and attack her yet, not with the fact that there may be a new power source that we have to get to before the rangers can!" He twisted his Z-scepter in his hands. "Patience, my dear, patience. We already know the secret that she's keeping from her friends."

"Yes." Rita laughed gleefully. "Because those brats don't know that we've been watching her for so long, we can be able to exploit everything about her." She started to walk towards the balcony, her footsteps echoing around her lair in a crescendo of confidence. "The other rangers will lose faith in her and their confidence will be shaken, making it that much easier for us to defeat them."

"The first thing we need to do is get her alone," Zedd said. He turned his head to the side when he heard footsteps coming their way and saw Goldar had entered the room. "What do you want? We have important things that Rita and I need to discuss."

"Please, your liege, let me fight the rangers," Goldar said. He bowed his head. "I know that I can help you. Let me distract them and then you can fight against the orange ranger and see how well she matches up against the power you through their way. If they're apart, she won't stand a chance!"

"We've tried that many times before, and as you can see, it hasn't worked yet!" Rita snapped.

Zedd held out his arm. Goldar had a point. If they did get her alone…at the best time…then things could go their way. They could overpower her, get her to the lair, and get her over onto their side. It almost worked with the green ranger; it almost worked with the pink ranger. The red ranger had been in their clutches before, to save the two of them, and even the blue ranger had fallen under their spell at one point. But each and every time, they were outsmarted and had gotten even stronger. They had their friends to help them the whole time. But now…the orange ranger clearly wasn't as enthusiastic about what was going on with the other rangers, she was going to be an easy target.

 _Maybe not so easy exactly, but a challenge. And if that new power source is real, then we need to get to her and it first._ Zedd mulled it over, working to figure out what to do. "Looks to me like we're going to get some insight into the horoscope." He stamped his scepter on the ground. "Get over here!"

The monsters that represented the zodiac all came out into the clearing and stood in front of Zedd. He studied them all; they were going to be his finest group of monsters yet, each one stronger than the next. He had seen the power that they could dish out, the rangers wouldn't know what hit em'. He just needed to be sure which one would be the best to use as the first monster against them all. If it was too weak, compared to the rangers, then it would be a bad start. Too strong and he was sure that they could come back and defeat the rest of the monsters in a matter of minutes.

"Well?" Rita spat, breaking the silence. "What are you waiting for?"

Zedd shushed her with one sharp look. She wouldn't understand. Ever since she was released from her space dumpster, she had seen nothing but failure after failure. Zedd wasn't a failure; he was the Emperor of Evil. Darkness coursed through his veins like ice water, any sense of compassion was ebbed away into nothingness, a black hole situated where a heart would be. Decimation, extermination, and extinction were all that filled his mind on a daily basis, encroaching on every thought, every movement, every breath.

Zedd's eyes shifted. His fingers twitched on his scepter, assessing the monsters. Curling his fingers over the scepter, he lifted it and pointed to one of the monsters standing in the middle. It stepped forward, smoke coming from its nostrils.

The ram.

Perfect.

Pivoting on his heel, Zedd sauntered over to his wife, each step was calculated, and stood in front of her. For once in her life, Rita was silent, waiting for Zedd to speak first before opening her mouth. "Arieselle is the perfect first monster to use." A red pigment shone all over his body, rising and falling with each breath he took. "With this zodiac, we're going to take over the world!"

Rita's teeth sparkled as her lips pulled back. This was what they had been waiting for, the time that they could finally get one up over the rangers. Their morale would be crushed, their spirit dashed, and evil could finally take over. "I love you!"

"I love you, too!" Zedd replied.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick!" Goldar mumbled.

"SILENCE!" Zedd roared. Pointing his scepter at Rita's henchman, he watched as Goldar lifted his hands and took a step back. "DON'T YOU UNDERMINE ME! We're going to do things my way and you're going to follow all of my instructions."

Goldar hesitated. "Yes, your liege."

"Now…" Zedd pointed his scepter at Earth. "Let's see what this monster can really do."

* * *

 

The notes dripped off of the guitar as Avalon's fingers deftly moved over the strings on the acoustic guitar. The acoustic guitar in her lap meshed against the curve of her body. The notes of the song faded away and Avalon dropped her hands. Avalon's fingertips brushed the grass as she stretched out. The delicate blades, hardy from recent rains, felt like eiderdown. She tilted her head back and smiled at the blue sky.

"Is that a smile I see on your face?" Zack leaned forward and poked her cheek. Avalon swatted his hand away, turning her head to the side. "You? Smiling? Never thought I'd see the day." He crouched down beside her. "You having fun?"

"I am, actually." Avalon even surprised herself to say that. Zack's smiled widened. He followed Avalon's gaze and laughed when she saw Jason, Billy, Trini, Tommy, Kimberly, and Bailey all playing basketball. It didn't look like they were playing right, as each person managed to get the ball, and no one tried to cover them when they tried to take a shot. "Looks like Bailey's having a good time, too."

"Oh yeah, she's awesome!" Zack agreed. "A really cool kid. She seems to be adjusting to everything well."

 _Better than me._ Avalon frowned.

Zack must have noticed the look on her face, because he put an arm around her shoulders. "Relax, we're going to help you the best we can. What are friends for?"

Avalon looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Not replying, she got up and started to walk over to the basketball court. Zack trailed after her, then jumped in front of her and started to dance around. Startled, Avalon stopped walking, her dark brown eyes moved back and forth as she watched him dance around. After a couple of seconds the corners of her mouth twitched. Peals of laughter broke out of her which she tried, in vain, to hide behind her hands.

"That's what you have to do!" Zack grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her. "You have to loosen up! Stop taking things so seriously!"

Avalon nodded.

"Good. Now come on, let's have some fun!" Zack looped his arm through Avalon's and the two headed onto the basketball court. Jason was bouncing the ball by his side. Zack darted in front of him and blocked Jason and Avalon grabbed onto the ball. She bounced it a few times, dodging Tommy's outstretched hands and took a shot. Everyone burst out laughing when the ball didn't get close to reaching the basket.

"God, I suck at this sport," Avalon said.

"You just need some practice," Trini said kindly.

"A lifetime of practice wouldn't help her with her playing ability," Bailey said. Her upper lip pursed, she placed her hands on her hips, and leaned forward. "She just sucks that bad."

"Well, I'm good at surfing and playing the guitar, so there's that." Avalon dismissed the comment with a wave of her hand. She spoke to Kimberly, though she watched as the guys stated to play a real game of basketball against each other. The girls converged to the side of the court out of harm's way in case it got intense. "By the way, Kimberly, your guitar has a crack in its neck."

"Yeah." Kimberly sighed. "I've been meaning to get a new one, but I don't really know which kind to get. All of the ones around here are for guys; the necks are too big. Or it's not the style I want." She sucked her lips back into her mouth, waving her hands. "It just doesn't feel right!"

"Yeah, I getcha," Avalon agreed. "Um." She kicked at the ground. "Do you guys…want to go to the mall with me? We can hang out or whatever. Look at some guitars…" She kept her gaze on the ground as Kimberly and Trini exchanged surprised glances. They then relaxed into warm smiles.

"Yeah, that sounds really fun," Trini said. "Thanks for inviting us."

"No worries." Avalon shrugged her gaze still on the ground. The girls continued to watch as the guys played basketball for a while. At some point they got tired and everyone convened to the shade to take a break. "So how long have you been playing the guitar?" She stretched out onto her side in the grass, holding her head up with her palm. "Most people know start to try it and then give up after figuring out how long it takes to really learn."

"Oh, for a while." Kimberly shrugged modestly. "I mean, I'm not even really that good."

"Don't listen to her." Trini put an arm around Kimberly's shoulders and smiled at her best friend. "She's great," she said to Avalon.

"And her singing is just as amazing," Tommy added. He smiled at his girlfriend and leaned over, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Not like most other singing that you hear nowadays, her voice is so different.' He snapped his fingers and pointed at Avalon. "You know, you two should play together some time."

"I'll try to fit it into my schedule," Avalon said. She sat up, resting her arms on top of her knees. "I've got so much stuff to do with his power ranger stuff being added in, it's like I can barely breathe sometimes. It's so hard having to deal with it on my own," she added mysteriously.

Bailey started to pick at the blades of grass, making a humming sound.

"As a ranger you-"Jason started.

"You're not going to start in on me with the friendship lecture are you?" Avalon broke it. "I already got enough of it from Smurf, Rudolph; I don't need it from you, too." Jason tilted his head back for a moment before giving her an even look.

"What do you think that you can contribute to the team?" The question caught her off guard. She expected him to say something about working on a team or being friends or explaining some things that were going on with their powers or what it was like to be a ranger. At her silence, Jason continued in his calm and collected manner. "At this moment, I don't think that your impulsiveness is going to get in the way."

Avalon snorted. _How ironic._

_"That is your Power Morpher; when you're in danger, you raise it to the sky and call out the name of your dinosaur and you will morph into a Power Ranger." Zordon continued. He seemed to be ignoring Avalon's attitude with the whole thing. He could see Alpha's distress as the conversation went on, but he knew what he was doing. This girl had been chosen for a reason._

_Avalon snorted as she replaced the morpher to her belt. "Sorry, mate, but it sounds like something out of a comic book." She shook her head and looked around again. "A surefire sign that I'm dreaming."_

_"Zordon, she doesn't believe!" Alpha cried, his hands going to his head. "Are you sure about this? The other rangers need help and we need someone that they can completely depend on!"_

_"This rust bucket is right," Avalon agreed, nodding over to Alpha. He turned to her and while he didn't have a face, she could tell that she had offended him. "No offense" she added quickly before turning back to Zordon. "This is just too weird...it doesn't happen to normal people." She then shook her head, looking down at her morpher once more. "Alright, so if this whole thing is real...what's my dinosaur?"_

_"Avalon, Impulsive and Caring, you shall command the Stegosaurus Dinozord," Zordon replied._

Avalon ran a hand through her hair. The rusting of the wind in the leaves broke the silence that fell upon the group. Bailey continued to look back and forth between her sister and Jason.

 _And here, I thought it was a good thing._ Avalon twisted her mouth to the side before locking her dark brown eyes onto his light brown ones. She watched as he stood up and motioned towards her. "I want you to attack me."

"'Scuse me?" Her eyebrow rose.

"I want you to attack me," Jason repeated.

"Jase, man, what are you doing?" Zack shook his head.

"I don't want to hurt you," Avalon said. She got to her feet, shedding her jacket. Pulling the rings off of her fingers, she stopped at the silver one on her pinky finger. Studying it, she decided to leave it on, giving the others to her sister to hold. Bailey glanced at her, worrying in her eyes. Avalon smiled confidently at her and Bailey gave a small smile back.

"You won't," Jason said confidently. Avalon moved to where he pointed and he stood in front of her, his hands behind his back. "Start whenever you're ready."

Chuckling, Avalon stretched her arms for a moment. She twisted her body to the side, stretching the muscles there, then snapped back around, charging towards Jason. She launched a fist towards his face; he deflected it with a quick slap on her wrist. Avalon's eyebrows lowered and she tried again, this time swinging her other fist, but the same thing happened. Scowling, Avalon backed up a few paces, giving Jason time to land a blow on her shoulder. He then started a full scale attack with his martial arts skills. Avalon fought back the best she could, using everything that she knew from street fighting, though it was quick to see that she was no match for him.

One time it looked like she had the upper hand, holding him in a headlock. Jason outsmarted her; he grabbed her hands and pulled them apart, then flipped her onto her back on the ground, pinning her down. His face hovered over hers, a serious expression on his face, though there was amusement in his eyes.

Stunned, Avalon looked up at him.

"Now, I could have easily hurt you, but that's not the point of martial arts," Jason said. He stood above her, his arms crossed over his chest. "The point is only to use it for self defense. But, you proved my point. With your impulsiveness of your fighting, I could see everything that you were going to do."

"Zordon said that my impulsiveness was something that made me a ranger," Avalon mumbled. _Was he lying? Does he really have any faith in me at all? Does anyone?_

"There's a difference between impulsiveness that helpful and impulsiveness that's unconstructive," Jason explained. "The sooner you figured that out, the better off you'll be." He reached out a hand to help her up. "However, you do have a lot of heart and that's really what's important." He grabbed onto her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"That surely was fascinating," Billy said. His eyes were bright behind his glasses and his fingers twitched at his sides. He looked like he wanted to grab a notebook and start writing down some notes. "Jason's martial arts style against Avalon's was a sight to see." He nodded over at the other rangers. "It should be helpful to our team; all of us have distinct fighting styles that have helped us so far."

"I still think that you're going to be a good addition to our team," Jason added. "You just need to figure out if it's what _you_ really want. Otherwise we're glad to have you" He dropped her hand and gave a sympathetic smile. He didn't want to seem like he was giving her a hard time. He just hoped that she would figure out whether or not she would commit to their team once and for all.

Avalon opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off, suddenly knocked off of her feet. She landed hard on the ground, her hands moving to her side where she felt a dull, throbbing pain. Looking up, she saw the other rangers on the ground as well, all struggling to get to their feet.

"Don't bother getting up; you're just going to get knocked back down!" Arieselle said, appearing behind them. She stomped her hoof on the ground, waiting as the rangers got to her feet.

"Bailey, get to the command center!" Tommy instructed. Bailey nodded and was teleported away in a flash of light. "You guys ready?" He turned to the rangers. When the nodded back, he put his hand behind his back. "It's morphin' time!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Tiger Zord!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber Tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

"Stay on your toes, guys!" Tommy said, holding onto Saba. "It looks like Rita has sent a new monster after us; we don't know how it works." He barely got the words out of his mouth before Arieselle charged forwards and slammed into his stomach. Tommy flew back, landing hard on the ground.

"Tommy!" Kimberly cried.

"Are you ok?" Billy added.

"Looks like this monster is stronger than we thought," Trini added. She charged forward, her power daggers appearing I her hands. "Power daggers!" Trini jumped in front of Arieselle as she turned and started charging towards her. Trini managed to land one slash of her daggers, but was knocked aside as well.

"Power Bow!"

"Power Axe!"

"Power Lance!"

"Power Sword!"

"Power Staff!"

Kimberly, Zack, Billy, Jason, and Avalon raced forward to attack Arieselle, but got knocked back just as easily as Tommy and Trini were. Each time someone went racing towards her, they were charged into. Arieselle seemed to pick up speed and power with each pass around in a circle. Avalon grunted when she was hit again.

_"Rangers, try using your power weapons to ward off the attack, Rita's and Zedd's monster, Arieselle, is gaining power each time she goes around to attack you."_

"How are we going to do that?" Zack wobbled, holding onto his power axe. "She's too fast!"

"Sitting here isn't going to help anyone!" Avalon snapped. "We have to stop her somehow!" She jumped high into the air and landed in front of Arieselle as she started running again. Arieselle stopped and stood in front of Avalon, prodding at the ground.

"Avalon, don't!" Tommy called.

"It's too dangerous!" Jason added.

Arieselle ran at Avalon. Avalon held her staff in front of her. Her arms shuddered violently as Arieselle crashed into her. Over and over, Arieselle crashed into Avalon, knocking her back onto the ground, each time.

"Quick, put our weapons together," Jason instructed.

"Power Axe!" Zack tossed his weapon into the air, making the bulk of the combined weapon.

"Power Bow!" Kimberly threw hers to add onto Zack's weapon, giving the blaster wings.

"Power Daggers!" Trini spun her weapons around her fingers before throwing it up to add onto the weapon.

"Power Lance!" Billy pulled his lance apart and threw it up onto the weapon as well.

"Power Sword!" Jason jumped up high into the air and brought his sword down on top of the weapon, making the power blaster complete. "Let's do it guys." He held onto the power blaster and Kimberly, Trini, Zack, and Billy all crowded around him to help him hold onto the weapon. "Ready?"

"Fire!" the five of them cried in unison and the blaster show out its energy right into Arieselle. An explosion rocked the park, when the smoke cleared, Arieselle was still standing.

"What?" Tommy cried.

"Now it's my turn!" Arieselle's horns started to charge and before the rangers could move, it sent out a large wave of energy to the rangers, blasting all of them off of their feet. They demporhed when they hit the ground, groaning in pain. With an evil laugh, Arielle disappeared.

"We demorphed," Trini said. She looked at her scraped hands, sitting back on her knees. Gasping for air, she turned to the others, who were helping each other get to their feet. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Tommy admitted. "But it's definitely stronger than anything we've ever faced before." He looked around. "Is everyone ok?" They all nodded back at him. "Avalon?" She glanced at him and nodded as well.

She did her best not to look at Jason. She understood what he was saying; she was trying her hardest to prove her worth, to defeat the monster, and instead, she didn't thin kit through rationally and put herself in danger. _Way to go, Avalon. You just make things that much harder for yourself and everyone around you, boofhead._ She hung her head, barely listening to anything anyone else said.

Her beeper went off and she glanced at the number before putting it back in her pocket. "I've got to get going," she mumbled. "Stuff to do, people to see." She raised and lowered her right shoulder in a shrug before holding up two fingers. "Peace."

"Avalon." Jason stopped her. "Don't get discouraged over what happened today. We can't win em' all. We need to regroup and come up with a strategy to take her on."

Avalon glanced at him. She could tell, just from looking at his face, that he was saying 'I told you so'. Her upper lip curled for a minute and she shook her head at him, silently saying 'shut up'. Her eyes moved over the rest of the rangers and she was surprised to see that they weren't looking at her with disdain, annoyance, or accusation. They all looked hopefully, if not a little disgruntled at their loss.

 _I don't get it._ Avalon shook her head. She gave the peace sign again before walking to the other side of the park. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched as the rangers teleported to the command center. Avalon walked through the dense trees and met up with Chase. With a flick of his head, Chase took the lead.

As they walked along, Avalon's fingers were twitching at her sides, waiting to form into fists. She was used to this feeling, she _loved_ this feeling. It was like being on a sugar high or an adrenaline rush; she suddenly got a lot of energy and could barely sit still. It wasn't the way she felt when she was a ranger though, and she couldn't understand why.

 _When I was fighting Arieselle, I felt nothing but desperation and anger, with this…I feel more alive than ever._ Avalon reasoned. "You know where they are?" Increasing her pace, the wind pushed her dark tresses out of her face, her eyes blazed with fury. But Chase stayed silent. He didn't speak until they reached the stop sign at the end of the street and Summer and Skye appeared moments later.

"What's going on?" Avalon asked, seeing the serious look in Summer's eyes almost immediately.

"We got movement from the High Flyers down at the park," Skye told her. "Which they know is our territory. Everyone else is already on their way over there," he reached out and grabbed Avalon's hand, pulling it out and slapping a switchblade into her palm. "Take this; they don't have any weapons on them and we need the upper hand."

Summer scowled, her pretty face turning ugly. "Not yet, anyway."

"You go with Skye and cut them off," Chase instructed quickly. "Rumor has it there's another group by the youth center and I need to check that out." He started to run off down the street, Summer following behind him. "Get going!" He called over his shoulder.

"Come on!" Skye started to run. Avalon followed, the wind whistling in her ears. "We need to get going now; they don't have that many people on their side."

"Are you sure?" As they ran, Avalon wrestled out of her jacket and secured it around her waist.

"Jack's numbers don't lie," Skye snapped.

"Belt up, Skye," Avalon said. Reaching out, she grabbed onto Skye's arm in a grip so tight he stopped in his tracks. "I'm helping you, because you're helping me; don't put your head up your ass like a bastard. If you continue to act like this you're-"

"Don't fucking touch me!" Skye pushed Avalon's hands off and then grabbed her wrists, holding onto them tight enough that she let out a cry of pain. "It's like you said, I'm helping _you_ to make sure _you_ and your sister don't get killed. So listen to what I have to say, and don't fucking give me that bullshit!" He pushed her away and started running again.

As they neared the other side of the park, the sounds of screams and grunts of pain increased; the gang war was underway. Running onto the soccer field, Avalon took in the scene in front of her. Members of both gangs were locked in combat; screaming at each other.

Punching. K

Kicking.

Cracking her knuckles, Avalon slowly grinned to herself. She pushed the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion away, this was important. She needed to put her full concentration into it. _Am I really doing the right thing?_

"Fan out, and don't do anything stupid," Skye ordered before launching himself onto a nearby High Flyer, who was only recognizable from the purple letterman's jacket he was wearing. Skye punched him across the face before kneeing him in the crotch. "Take that you fucking cocksucker!"

"I finally found you, bitch." Avalon turned around to find Kristie the only girl of the High Flyers glaring at her. "Seems to me that you're always running away from me!" Kristie flipped her blonde hair over her shoulders. "You scared?"

"Of you? Don' think so!" Avalon placed her hands on her hips, resting her palms on her belt. She looked down at her morpher and felt a surge of guilt wash through her. _You're doing this for Bailey, just like when you're a ranger. To protect her._ "I'm not scared of anything." Avalon took a step back and raised her fists up by her face.

At that moment Kristie lunged. She twisted her wrist, brandished her pocketknife and tried to stab the orange ranger. Backing away, Avalon side stepped the movement, knocking Kristie off balance. Seeing the open opportunity, Avalon grabbed onto Kristie's wrist and pulled her forward. Kristie was flipped over Avalon's arm and crashed to the ground, the window knocked out of her. _At least these new powers come in handy for something._ Grabbing onto her right foot, Avalon stretched to her side and let go. The momentum of her swing increased the power of the blow. Kristie cried out in pain, her voice mixing in with the other voices crying out in the battle.

She knocked Avalon over before rolling until she was on top of the orange ranger, punching her in the stomach. A blow like that, normally, would have severely hurt her, but this time, Avalon barely felt it. Kristie pulled a hand back, ready to punch Avalon in the face; Avalon caught a glimpse of something flickering in the light, and recognized brass knuckles on Kristie's hand. Avalon twisted her body to the side as Kristie and brought her leg up, kicking Kristie in the back of the head.

"God!" Kristie brought her hands up to her back of her head, and Avalon shoved her off of her, quickly getting back to her feet. "You fucking bitch!"

Avalon brought her arm back and swung it forward, hitting Kristie right in the face. Blood erupted from her nose as it emitted a loud crack. Then the two girls were back on the ground, throwing punch after punch. The fight lasted for a half hour, every time someone from the High Flyers or Chase's gang had managed to get the upper hand, the other one managed to bring them back down. They didn't dare stop, if they did, it would mean that they would lose the battle and the other side would have the upper hand in the war.

"Cops!" A distant voice yelled. The teenagers leapt to their feet and scattered as fast as they could. Unfortunately some officers had spotted them and started to chase them as they ran.

"Skye!" Avalon called over her shoulder, skidding to a stop. She looked around for the rest of their gang members, but they had already disappeared from sight. Avalon turned her head to the side and saw some police officers hurrying over to them. She turned back to Skye, her breath catching in her throat. "Come on!"

"I'm good," Skye called back. He ran off in the opposite direction. "Just get out of here!" He disappeared behind a concrete wall and kept running.

Avalon didn't stop running until she was sure that she was a safe distance away from the park. She reached up feeling her puffy cheek, her head throbbing with pain. She let out a groan knowing that if someone saw her, there would be questions.

A lot of questions.

Avalon took a deep breath and continued walking back to her apartment. Hopefully Bailey was there, safe and sound. Maybe, if she were lucky, she could duck into the bathroom and put some make-up on, giving her time to think of an excuse as to why she was so bruised if anyone noticed the next day.

Maybe.

It wasn't until much later that Avalon realized she never answered Zack on whether or not the other rangers were their friends.

To be honest, she wasn't even sure anymore. When Avalon first met them, she wanted nothing to do with them. Preferring to keep to herself and to do what she had to for herself and Bailey. She had never been more conflicted with where her loyalties lied until that day, when she had left the battle to go with her friends. She didn't think that the rangers believed her when she said that she needed some rest. Before, lying to her wouldn't have been that much of a problem. But this was bigger than her and her secret; it had to do with Angel Grove, the people that lived there, and the whole world.

What was her ultimate decision going to be?

She wasn't even sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I keeping the other rangers in character? Do you want to see more of them? Is the pacing fine? What do you think of Avalon so far?


	9. Guilty Conscience

**Chapter 09**

_Guilty Conscience_

"So…" Kimberly twisted the pen that was poking out of the top of her notebook. She tilted her head back, moving her brown tresses out of her eyes. She gave Avalon what was supposed to be a calm smile; the Australian could see the excitement that was creeping into her voice. "Are you going to the homecoming dance?" She asked. She then nudged Trini on the arm. "It's coming up soon. Trini's thinking of going with Billy, but I think the two of them are too shy to ask each other."

Trini smiled as she turned her gaze to the floor.

"I don't know, dances aren't really my thing," Avalon said slowly, locking her locker. As she closed the door, she caught sight of a picture of her and her little sister. _Besides, what'll Bailey do if I'm not around? I can't ask Zordon and Alpha to babysit for me._ Her upper lip curled at the thought. "I don't like to dress up much and besides, I'm new here, who'm I going to ask?"

"You could always go with Zack," Trini suggested.

"Isn't he going out with Angela or something?" Avalon asked. She waved a dismissive hand. "That's her name right? I don't know she seems kinda…standoffish if you ask me." She held up her hands. "If she's anything like Summer, then I don't want to come between that, I don't need my life threatened." _Anymore than it all ready is, anyway,_ she thought, trying not to yawn loudly in their faces.

"Oh, then why don't you go with Jason?" Kim asked. Her eyes lit up as her smile widened. "He hasn't asked anyone yet."

"Rudolph?" Avalon repeated. She raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, I think I'd have more fun with Bulk and Skull or something." She gave a half smile at Kimberly's and Trini's shocked looks. "Come on, they're not that bad once you get to know them. They're even funny." She stopped short her eyes moving behind Kimberly and Trini. _Why now?_

The pink and yellow rangers turned around, watching as Chase walked down the school hallway. Heads turned as he went, taking in his usual attire of a black wire beater, a mechanic's jumped tied around his waist, and necklace thumping against his chest. His shoes made heavy plodding noises as he walked towards them. His eyes were only on Avalon. Ignoring the other two girls, he walked up to Avalon.

"Chase!" She gritted her teeth so hard her head started to ache. "What are you doing here?" She motioned over to Kimberly and Trini. "You remember them, right? Kimberly and Trini?"

Chase barely glanced at him as he nodded. "Something's up with your sister," he said to Avalon.

Avalon tightened her grip on her backpack. Kimberly glanced at her, frowning when she saw her hand shaking. She exchanged glances with Trini; sure that she saw the same thing. "Are you sure?" She asked. "She seemed fine this morning. Is she sick or something?"

"I don't know." Chase tilted his head to the side, widening his eyes as he stared at her. "But you might want to go see her."

Avalon's eyebrows lowered then returned to its place. She understood what Chase meant. She let out a weary sigh. _You thought that you could handle this._ She reminded herself. _Being a power ranger and being able to provide for your sister. You can do this._

"Well, can't her Mom or Dad go check on her?" Kimberly turned to Chase. He looked taken aback, as if surprised that she would even speak to him. "She's going to be late for class and I don't know if she can take a detention."

"Detentions are no big deal." Avalon shrugged. "I'm used to getting them." She looked at her watch. "Um, you could just tell the teacher that I'm going to be late, yeah? Mum and Dad….they work so far into town, I don't want them to have to come all the way out here in case she's faking." She looked over at Chase and he nodded quietly. "I'll be back later."

"Ok," Trini said. "If you're sure."

"I am." Avalon followed Chase down the hallway.

Kimberly frowned to herself as she watched the two of them leave. There was something about the way that Chase had spoken to her that she was uneasy with, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The day that she and Trini had met them for the first time, she had a bad feeling about him and their friends then too.

"Is something wrong, Kim?" Trini asked, grabbing her attention.

Kimberly looked at her, her best friend's eyes burning into hers. "Not yet," she replied after a moment.

* * *

 

"And then when Billy was giving me the full tour of the command center, he was telling me that the power coins were what really drove the power behind all of your zords, and stuff," Bailey said as she sat at the counter, flipping back and forth between her science textbook and her notebook. She looked up as Avalon turned from the stove holding onto a spatula. She looked irritated. _When does she not look so high strung? I haven't' seen her happy in a long time._

"Are you going to talk about Power Rangers all night or are you going to do your homework?" Avalon winced at the sudden movement and grabbed onto her side, waiting for the pain to subside.

Bailey groaned, "Homework is so boring now, compared to what I'm doing at the command center!"

"I don't care!" Avalon put her hands on her hips. "You still have to keep up with your homework." She reached out and tapped her sister's notebook. "I'm not going to let your grades drop. You think its tough getting homework done, try being me." She gave her sister a funny smile.

"And you say that you hate kids." Bailey rolled her eyes. "Yet, you're good with me. Mum would be proud."

Avalon snorted. She ignored Bailey's statement about their mother. "I don't _hate_ kids," she explained. "It's just that half of the time I'm not in the mood to deal with them." She then crossed her arms over her chest, slowly smiling. "Speaking of…when were you going to tell me about your crush on Billy?"

For a moment, Bailey wondered how her sister could have known. She had been so careful about it. She went to school then went to the command center if she was needed. She did her homework and her chores and even chewed every bite of food thirty times before swallowing. Nothing in that could have let her… _Oh yeah. That stupid power._ Bailey screwed up her face, giving Avalon her best 'duh' look. "I don't have a crush on Billy."

"Yes, you do," Avalon insisted. "You have all the classic signs." She waved a hand. "You smile like crazy whenever you're working with him in the command center. You don't stop talking about him, you're always thinking of some… _thing_ that would help with the zords or our power weapons or something."

Bailey stuck her tongue out. "It's part of my job, boofhead."

"And while it is very helpful, I'm sure it has nothing to do with the rest of us."

"Oh yeah? What about you?" Bailey shot back. Avalon raised an eyebrow. "You always pride yourself in saying that you 'don't have any friends'…" Bailey used air quotes around the words. "But you spend an awful amount of time with Billy and the others."

"You kind of can't ignore people that won't leave you alone," Avalon said slowly. "Plus, I have that job of saving the world and keeping you out of trouble." She poked Bailey on the tip of the nose. Bailey pushed Avalon's hand away. "Though I'm the one that seems to get you into it."

Bailey was quiet for a long moment. _Should I ask her now? She's not going to respond well to it…she never does._ "Av, have you ever thought of just leaving them and getting us help?" She asked quietly. "There are so many people out here…your friends could help us too." Bailey continued to speak as Avalon shook her head. "You don't always have to rely on yourself to get things done! I can help you with some stuff, but you won't let me." Bailey frowned when Avalon turned back to the stove. "What are you so afraid of?"

Avalon froze at that one sentence. She wasn't even sure. What _was_ she scared of? There were a lot of things, but she couldn't pinpoint it on one thing. That was something that she hated about her sister sometimes, the fact that she was the only one that could get under her skin like that. She turned off the burner underneath the pot of hot dogs.

"Finish your homework and you can have dinner." Avalon changed the subject. She picked up a paper plate and fixed herself a hotdog before sitting at the counter across from her sister. Avalon reached over and pulled a magazine into her lap. Bailey sighed loudly as she went back to her homework. There was silence between the two of them for a while and then Avalon spoke up again, "So what is it about Billy that you like the most?"

"Shut up!" Bailey threw her pencil at Avalon, who easily moved to the side, causing it to fall to the floor.

"Just admit that you like him and I'll stop," Avalon said calmly. "It's common to like someone who's older than you. And, you're eleven, so I figured it'd come up at some point."

Bailey felt her cheeks heat up in a blush. _Way to go, Bay, that's like admitting it._ She looked away. "It's not that big a deal." She started to mess with her fingers. "I mean, the guys in my class are soooo immature compared to your friends." She shrugged. "At least they treat me like a person instead of just some little girl that follows you around." Avalon nodded. "So…" Bailey flashed Avalon a bright smile. "Who do _you_ like?"

Avalon snorted. Her eyes shifted away from her sister's, focusing on her magazine. "No one around here, I can tell you that much."

"I don't believe that," Bailey said pointedly. She turned to a blank page in her notebook and started to write. "Ok so Tommy is going out with Kimberly, so that's not going to work. Zack has that thing for Angela…you could go out with Jason."

"Rudolph?" Avalon looked skeptical. "See, I don't see why people say that. Kim and Sunny said that earlier today." Bailey's nose wrinkled and Avalon explained, "Trini likes the color yellow, hence-"

"Sunny." Bailey nodded. She looked towards the ceiling as she thought about it. "And you call Tommy, 'Tommo', Zack, 'Twinkle Toes', Jason, 'Rudolph', and Billy, 'Smurf'." She gazed at her sister in a hard stare. Avalon, who had lifted her magazine and was reading it once more, noticed the silence. Her eyes appeared over the top of the reading material, her eyebrows rising when she saw her sister's look.

"What?"

"Nothing." Bailey shook her head. She changed the subject back. "Anyway, you should ask Jason to the dance, you'll have fun." Bailey cracked her knuckles. "You know if you're even going. You've been trying to get out of going to school, too. And Trini has been calling to be sure that you're ok."

"It's kind of hard to concentrate when you're trying to hide all the bruises on your face," Avalon said shortly. "I can't go to the nurse either or that would open up a whole new can of worms." She ran her hands over her face, her shoulders slumping, releasing all of the stress that was starting to build up in her body. "I don't even know what to do anymore. I'm so tired all the time."

"Shouldn't being a Power Ranger give you more…power?" Bailey asked. "No pun intended."

"You'd think," Avalon agreed. "But Rita and Zedd…I'm trying to keep up with schoolwork, and with you, and with the bills."

"All the more reason that you need help," Bailey insisted.

Avalon shrugged and took another bite of her hotdog. Bailey sighed and went back to her homework. The two were quiet after that, though it wasn't uncommon for the two of them. If they weren't talking about their day, the command center, Rita and Zedd, or Avalon's taking care of them, they were quiet around each other. It was a comfortable silence.

"Can I get a communicator too?" Bailey asked as she started in on her hotdog.

"Why don't you ask your precious Billy for one?" Avalon gave her sister a wicked smile. Bailey's mouth dropped open before she reached out her hand and took the last bite of Avalon's hot dog, shoving it into her mouth. "Hey! My hot dog didn't do _anything_ to you!"

"Too bad, it was stuck in the crossfire!" Bailey stuck her tongue out at her sister before she continued to chew it. She shrieked as Avalon grabbed Bailey's hot dog and took a large bite out of it. "Hey!"

"Ha ha! Now you know how it feels!" Avalon said her mouth full. She grabbed her plate and tossed it into the trashcan. "Finish your dinner then go take a shower," she instructed before going to her room.

Avalon turned on the light and stepped inside, running a hand over her face. She winced when she felt the puffiness of her eye. The fight was still fresh in her mind, the adrenaline had gone out of her as soon as she had gotten back to school and then everything hurt. She didn't remember how much it hurt until she was sitting in her classes and wincing at every slight move. She had managed to hide her bruises, so that was a plus. But it didn't help that Kimberly and Trini asked about her sister when she had gotten back. That attracted the attention of the boys as well. Part of her was surprised that they cared enough to ask about Bailey and if she was ok and another part of her was happy that they did.

It really did back up what Bailey had said, that they treated her like a friend rather than an annoying little kid and as long as Bailey was happy, she was happy.

Avalon ran her hands over her face, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She looked…nothing short of tired. Her dark brown eyes didn't light up as they used to and she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the prospect of what she knew was coming every day. If she admitted it to herself, it would be because of the stress that she was trying so hard to help everyone. She was helping the other rangers in their fight against Rita, though she was still somewhat skeptical about it, she was helping the rest of the gang try to keep going so they could get their lives on track. The gang wasn't as bad as people thought they were, just by looking at them on the outside, it was a group of people that all had their own stories and their own problems and they were there to help each other when they needed it.

She knew all of the stress that she had stemmed back to her sister. She didn't blame Bailey for it; it was her fault, since she hadn't told anyone that there was no one there for them after their father had left to find their mother. But she was just so angry…so she made the irrational decision to take care of her sister herself. She was used to not needing help, but now she knew that there were times that you had to ask for it.

Looking down at her morpher, Avalon lightly running her fingers over the power coin that rested inside it. She let out a heavy sigh before turning back to her bed, hearing her pager go off. She picked it up and stuck it on the pocket of her jeans before grabbing her leather jacket. Avalon pulled it on as she went back into the living room, where Bailey was watching TV. Bailey looked at her sister and a look of anger flashed over her face.

"I'm going to-"

"I know where you're going!" Bailey snapped. She got up from the couch and stormed into her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Avalon thought about going into Bailey's room and putting her in her place but then decided against it, knowing that it would just make things worse. _Maybe I should stop leaving her alone when I go out. Maybe that'll make things easier for her._ Avalon grabbed her keys from the hook by the front door and stuck it into her jeans pockets before slipping out of the apartment. She went to the playground and met up with Chase and Skye.

"Where's Summer?" Avalon asked as she approached. "She didn't get stopped by her parents did she?" She and Skye laughed as Chase shook his head. He was always in a no-nonsense sort of mood, so she wasn't surprised at the stern look he sent her way.

"She couldn't make it this time," Chase said shortly. "She got hurt by the High Flyers and needed time to walk it off." He looked Avalon up and down, his eyes seeming to show concern. "How're you doin' Pinkie?"

"As good as I'll ever be." Avalon shrugged.

"Good." Chase nodded and turned his head to the side, signaling them to start walking.

Avalon let out a short breath when she recognized the mini-mansion that they had been at before. She could remember when she had almost been caught. The thought of being sent away and not being able to be there for Bailey had scared her more than getting caught in the first place. Hopefully Chase had checked the place out enough so that they wouldn't be discovered this time.

"You think this is a good idea?" Avalon asked. "I mean, we got a lot of good stuff last time, what if they notice that things are missing now?"

"This place is big enough that they wouldn't notice if we stole the couch," Chase scoffed.

Avalon laughed.

Chase darted forward across the front lawn and then disappeared behind the house. When he came back, his eyes were shinning with excitement. "All's clear," he hissed. "Let's go."

 _This doesn't seem familiar,_ Avalon though sarcastically. She rolled her eyes before she and Skye followed him into the house.

Once again, Avalon was the one that had to climb through the window and open the front door for Chase and Skye. As soon as her feet hit the floor, she was moving through the basement as fast as possible, dodging the ping-pong table with ease. She went to the front door and unlocked it, backing up as Chase and Skye darted inside. Chase instructed her and Skye to check out the master bedroom again. Once inside she and Skye immediately went to the drawers. Avalon frowned in annoyance when she noticed that the drawers that she had looked in before were bare. Skye seemed to be having the same problem, because he moved to another dresser and started to open the drawers that were there in quick succession.

"Nothing!" Avalon hissed.

"Let's try a different room," Skye suggested.

Avalon led the way into another room and stepped inside. It was obviously a teenage girl's room from the frills and the doilies and flowers that decorated the space. Avalon ignored it as she searched the dresser for a jewelry box. She didn't have her own jewelry case, but she knew what one looked like. As soon as she found one, she popped it open.

"Jackpot!" Avalon hissed.

A second later, Skye was by her side. "Dude, this family is loaded if the girl has a lot of stuff." He reached for a pair of earrings and studied them before shoving it into his pocket.

Avalon searched through the jewelry box and found a pearl necklace. She carefully picked it up and looked it over. The pale white jewels shone in the dim lighting. It was real. Avalon shoved it into her pocket and grabbed the matching earrings that went with it. All of a sudden, she felt something warm wash over her.

"Dude, you're glowing!" Skye whispered.

Avalon looked down and saw that her power coin was glowing, the light steadily getting brighter and dimming as the seconds passed. She quickly pulled it out of the morpher, but it continued to glow. Skye was looking at her funny and she pushed by him, leaving the room. Before she took two steps into the hallway, she was teleported to the command center.

"Ow!" Avalon winced as she hit the ground. "Ugh, you'd think that I'd get used to that by now." She pulled herself to her feet. "Is there any reason that you did that?" She asked Alpha and Zordon. "You could have revealed my 'secret identity' to my friends." Her upper lip curled. "I thought that was a big no-no."

"We felt that we needed to get you out of there before you made a grave mistake," Zordon said. "Avalon, you have a tough exterior that many people see, but they don't see the softer side of you, especially when you're around Bailey."

"And?" Avalon prompted.

"We have faith in you to be a great ranger," Alpha said. "And you have shown that you'd help the rangers at a moment's notice. But we don't want you to ruin everything that you've worked for with a mistake."

"I'm trying to help my sister, how is that a mistake?" Avalon asked. She let out a sound of frustration and ran her hands through her hair.

"You're bringing the danger to her-"

"-Isn't that technically what you're doing by bringing her to the command center-"

"-if you continue to steal from others."

Alpha walked over to Avalon and grabbed her hands in his. "We know that you're a good person, Avalon, we've seen it. We've been watching you for a long time. But you don't have the confidence in yourself to _be_ that great person."

"So…what, are you kicking me out or something?" Avalon asked. "Am I not a ranger anymore? I thought that we had to keep our identities a secret so Rita and Zedd wouldn't attack me or something."

"That's a good point that you brought up," Zordon said. "Rita and Zedd will stop at nothing to find out your identity and will hurt everyone around you, just to be sure that they can find you. The other rangers will be there for you. But you need to return the favor to be there for them, and you can't do that if you continue to do what you're doing."

Avalon was quiet.

"We see the same thing in you now that we did when we first chose you; you're impulsive and caring and you can do great things," Alpha said.

Avalon turned away from the two of them, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are we done?" Zordon nodded and Avalon teleported herself out of the command center.

She had a lot to think about.


	10. Where Do Your Loyalties Lie?

**Chapter 10**

_Where do your loyalties lie?_

* * *

 

Rita laughed gleefully as she backed away from the telescope. She had been watching Earth again, in particularly, watching the rangers, waiting to see if there was going to be a good time to attack them and she had gotten an epiphany. If she and Zedd continued to attack as much as they could and the orange ranger continued to hesitate on where her true loyalties lied, then things were going to go their way for once. They only needed a few more attacks and they could finally set their plan in motion…

**..**

**.**

Kimberly opened the bathroom door, a plume of steam pouring out into the hallway, twisting and curling before dissipating. She smiled to herself, running a comb through her long, dark hair as she used her other hand to slip into a fluffy, terry-cloth robe. She took a couple more swipes through her hair before she started to toss it back and forth across her shoulders. She looked at the bruise that was on her arm, thinking back to the fight against Arieselle. That monster had clearly taken them all by surprise, not even their combined weapons could do anything to stop it. Kimberly frowned as she thought about it.

The monster continued to come back over and over, smashing into them with as much force as it could muster. Then it had that final blast with energy stormed from its horns. Kimberly shuddered and shook her head, remembering the feeling of the energy coursing through her body and then the overwhelming feeling of loss power when she demorphed. _Rita and Zedd really have their work cut out for them. We're going to need to talk to Zordon and Alpha about this._

Kimberly's moments slowed through her hair as she stared at her reflection. It was hard, now, to remember a time where she wasn't a ranger. Where she didn't have to constantly look over her shoulder, wonder if she was going to be attacked by putties, or hope that her parents weren't put in danger. Having a boyfriend and her best friends on the team really helped, but sometimes she wondered if it was worth it. Having to be so secretive…it was enough to make her go crazy sometimes. Nothing that a quick shopping spree couldn't help, but it wasn't he magic cure. She was well aware that nothing was going to make them all feel better unless Rita and Zedd were stopped for good.

She was broken out of her thoughts by her cell phone starting to ring. Kimberly glanced over at her pink phone for a moment before drying off her hands and reaching over to pick it up. Seeing Trini's name come up on the Caller ID, she grinned and picked it up. Bringing it to her ear, she heard Trini's cheerful greeting.

"Hey!" Kimberly replied. "So I just tried on my dress for the homecoming dance to make sure that it, like, still fit," Kimberly said. She wiped off the rest of the mirror and slung her towel over her shoulder. Taking one last look at her reflection, she turned and flicked off the lights, walking back to her room. She flipped on the overhead lights to her pink room and went over to her closet. A peaceful smile slid onto her face as she ran her fingers over the fabric of the dress. "Trini, wait until you see it all together, it's perfect. It has a sweetheart neckline and it's really cute."

"You have to bring it over to my place so you can model it for me," Trini said. "I got mine, too. I just need to get the heels that go with it, the other ones that we looked at before just didn't work."

"Are you thinking of wedges or flats or what?" Kimberly went over to her dresser and started to look through her jewelry case. Her fingers moved over diamonds and earrings and brooches and bracelets, and necklaces stared back at her. However, the one that she was looking for, that completed the whole look that she was going for, wasn't to be found. Frowning, Kimberly moved over to her other jewelry box and started to search through the contents of that as well, coming up empty. "That's funny."

"What's wrong?" Trini asked.

"There was a pearl necklace that my mother gave me that I wanted to wear with my dress," Kimberly said slowly. She cradled her phone against her ear and continued to look through the jewelry. Still nothing. Her heart dropped a little. "But I can't find it." Running a hand through her hair, she suddenly realized something else. "You know…it's funny." She started to pace. "A couple of weeks ago, my mom lost her gold necklace too. She thought that she had just misplaced it, but now that my pearl necklace is gone…"

"Do you think you lost them?" Trini asked. Kimberly could hear the worry in her voice, in the calm, serene way that Trini did. That was something that Kimberly really loved about her best friend, she could be anxious or worried, but her calm exterior extended outward, exuding confidence. Kimberly was the polar opposite, whatever she was feeling; she showed it as soon as she felt it. Together, the two of them made a great team.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Trini," Kimberly reassured her. "We probably sent them out to be shined or something. But I'll call you later, ok?"

"Alright, see you, Kim." Trini said and hung up the phone.

Kimberly lowered the phone from her ear and punched in Tommy's number. She waited a few moments before her boyfriend picked up the phone. "Hey, Kim, how are you?" She could hear the smile in his voice and that instantly relaxed her.

"Not much," she replied slowly. "I was just talking to Trini about the dance and-"

"About that," Tommy interrupted. "What kind of flowers do you want for your corsage? I was thinking of pink roses, but Zack says that might be a little too obvious. And according to Angela, having pink roses has a specific meaning compared to red roses and I don't-"

"Tommy!" Kimberly laughed. "No matter what you do, I'm sure I'm going to love it." She laid back on her head, starting to twirl her hair around her finger. "But what I'm wondering now, is what the corsage will look like. And your tuxedo. Will it match my dress somehow? It has to match."

Tommy let out a light groan, causing Kimberly to giggle. "Does _everything_ have to match?"

"You boys are so clueless!" Kimberly teased. She started to run her fingers across her neck, then sat up, remembering the reason that she had called. "That reminds me. I had a pearl necklace that I was going to wear with my dress, but I can't find it."

"I'm sure you just misplaced it, Kim," Tommy reassured her.

"But Mom's gold necklace went missing a couple of weeks ago, too," Kimberly said. "And she would never misplace that." Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Trust me, since she and Dad split up, she's been very careful of where she puts her things and show she looks."

"Don't worry about it, Kim," Tommy continued. "There's probably a logical explanation for it. You'll find it in time for the dance. And even if you don't, it doesn't matter, because you look good in everything."

Kimberly giggled once more. "You're cute,"

* * *

 

Avalon could barely keep her eyes open as she walked back to the apartment. She had no idea what was going to greet her when she got back. Her mind always raced with a million thoughts whenever she would leave Bailey alone. Would she come back to an empty apartment with a rival gang having taken her? Would social services find out what happened at take her? The apartment could be on fire with her trapped inside. She really needed to find out what to do with her whenever she went out with Chase and the others. Her sanity would still be intact and he was sure that Bailey would be safe. Even if a monster attack happened while she was out, she would feel better knowing Bailey was out of harm's way.

Avalon yawned, raising a hand to her mouth. She yawned so hard that tears sprang to her eyes. An once they started, they didn't stop. Surprised, Avalon raised a hand to her face as the tears silently fell, one by one. _I must be cracking up, this is the second time I've cried in a long time._ She knew what the real problem was…the stress was starting to get to her.

Avalon wiped her face, wanting to get rid of the tell-tale signs of her sadness, and unlocked the door. She expected to see Bailey lying on the couch, dutifully waiting for her as she always did. However, this time, her bedroom door was closed and all of the lights in the apartment was off. Avalon bent over slightly, seeing Bailey's bedroom light on under her door.

Avalon heaved a heavy sigh and went over to Bailey's room and knocked gently on it. "Bay, can we talk?"

The door opened a second later and Bailey stuck her head out, pushing her glasses up her nose. Behind the lenses, her dark brown eyes were narrowed in a glare and her freckled nose was scrunched up in a look of scorn. "I don't know, Av, what could you say that's any different from the other times you tried to make me feel better about what you're doing?"

Avalon crossed her arms over her chest. She was _not_ in the mood for the way that Bailey was speaking to her. In the back of her mind, she knew she couldn't fault Bailey for it. She was a innocent bystander, blindly following everything her big sister told her. "Don't cop and attitude with me, Bay," Avalon said sternly.

The anger slid out of Bailey's face. She never was one that stood up to Avalon very well, always backing down whenever he was told to. Bailey's shoulders slumped. "Sorry," she muttered. "But you're not mum, you can't always tell me what to do."

"Look…" Avalon pinched the bride of her nose. "You have to see this from my point of view," she said slowly. "I'm trying hard…to keep life normal for us. And I know that you're not happy with the way that I'm doing it, but how am I supposed to get us money if I can't get a job?"

"Uh, find one." Bailey rolled her eyes. "It's called 'the wanted ads." Avalon waited for her to finish. "Why don't you apply to work at Ernie's or something? You're there all the time working on that project that you have to do. Or just doing homework or something. And the other guys can watch me while you're there!"

"So how am I supposed to do that with no prior job experience?" Avalon rubbed her forehead. "It's not as simple as you make things seem, Bailey."

"I know that, I'm not stupid," Bailey huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "People _lie_ on their resumes you know." Avalon bobbed her head back and forth. Bailey turned and walked into her room, leaving the door open behind her as a open invitation for Avalon to come in as well. Bailey jumped onto her bed, pushing her glasses up her nose. "I'll make one for you. You can get a job as a babysitter." She ducked her head, shrugging her shoulders. "You do a good job of taking care of me."

Avalon raised an eyebrow.

"I know I don't say it a lot, but you do," Bailey admitted. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Avalon slowly started to smile. She reached out and ruffled Bailey's hair before sitting on the bed beside her. Even though they fought a lot, got on each other's nerves, teased each other relentlessly and disagreed a lot, they knew that, at the moment, they only had each other and wouldn't know what to do without each other.

"I was thinking that I could…get someone to watch you if I ever needed to go out with the guys," Avalon said slowly. "How does that sound to you?"

Bailey's face screwed up as she thought about it. "A babysitter?"

"No," Avalon said quickly. "You don't need a babysitter. The last time we tried to get you a babysitter, you set her on fire." Bailey gave a sheepish smile. "It was a cool experiment you were trying to show her, but I'm not having that happen again. Not when it brings the good chance of people finding out about us." She tapped her chin. "I was thinking of asking one of the other rangers to look after you."

"What'll your story be?" Bailey demanded. "You know, when you have to leave? What if a monster attacks?"

"If a monster attacks, you're going to probably be taken to the command center, so that doesn't make a difference." Avalon winced a little, thinking about what Zordon and Alpha had said to her earlier. A overwhelming feeling of wanting to burst into sobs created a thick lump in her throat. The guilt was starting to get to her. "Otherwise, I'll tell them I'm looking for a job and I can't take you with me."

Bailey shrugged. "You can try," she said slowly. "But…I don't know if they want me around. Why would they want an eleven year old kid to look after when they have their own stuff to think about?"

"At least let me try," Avalon insisted. She yawned again and leaned back until her head was resting on the pillow behind her.

Closing her eyes, in moments she was lost to sleep.

* * *

 

"Billy, come on, you _have_ to do it!" Kimberly started to poke Billy on the arm. Billy tried to slap her hands away, but laughed and smiled as she continued to poke him.. Her eyes shifted from him to Trini, who was across the room, getting smoothies for them at the juice bar. When she turned her full attention back over to Billy, a bright smile on her face. "She'll say, 'yes', you know she will."

"I don't know…" Frowning, Billy rested his chin in his hand, angling his gaze down to his notebook. He was supposed to be doing homework, but nothing was written on the page. He started to tap the pen in his free hand against the paper. Ask Trini to a dance? It seemed a lot harder than most people made it look. What if she said no? He started to increase his tapping, hoping that if he stalled for time, Kimberly would give up and leave him alone. However, he knew that when it came to matters of the heart, a sale, or shopping in general, she wouldn't leave it alone. "Dances aren't really my thing…"

"Oh come on, we spent such a long time on this, Billy!" Kimberly continued to plead. She clasped her hands together, in a prayer position. "And it's next weekend, it's going to be really good." She then pouted. "I'm not going to have a good time if all of my friends aren't going."

"Would Billy's not going really keep you from being happy?" Zack laughed incredulously. He had finally taken his headphones off of his ears, tuning into what Kimberly had been saying. They had gone to the juice bar to get some more work done on their project, but as it happened, they got off track very quickly. When Kimberly started to pressure Billy to ask Trini to the dance, he had tuned out, knowing how long Kimberly could go with these things.

"Yes!" Kimberly snapped at him. Zack's eyes widened in surprise, but laughed a little, shaking his head. He was used to Kimberly's antics at that point. She turned back to Billy, poking him again. This time, she dug her nail into the skin of his arm, causing him to let out a sound of pain and pull his arm away. "You two are already friends, so you're going to have fun. Just do it."

"I say, go for it, Billy," Tommy added. Like Zack, he was sitting quietly, watching the exchange, knowing how intense his girlfriend could be. "It's like Kim said, you guys are friends, and you'll have fun together. And you don't always have to dance at dances." Kimberly smacked him on the arm and glared, causing Zack to laugh. "I mean, you do! You _do!_ "

"Do what?" Bailey asked as she and Avalon walked into the youth center and over to their table.

Avalon held up the peace sign with her fingers and dropped down in a chair. She rested her arms on her legs. Her right foot was planted on the ground, but she was resting her left foot on the ground of the ball of her foot. Her leg was moving up and down so fast, as if it was a motor revving. She ran a hand over her forehead before dropping her head and staring hard at the floor, her leg moving even faster than before. Dark circles were under her eyes and her hair, which normally hung loose around her face, was pulled back into a tight ponytail.

"Hey, Av, are you ok?" Zak asked, looking over at her. He noticed her appearance. She looked sick.

"It's Avalon." Avalon lifted her head and gave a weak smile. "I'm good, just a lot of stuff is going on..." She reached into her pocket and pulled out some money, handing it over to Bailey. "Here, get whatever you want," she said dismissively.

"Thanks!" Bailey went up to the counter. She said something to Trini, causing the older girl to smile, and wait as Bailey got herself something to eat and drink.

"So what are we talking about?" Avalon asked, hoping to change the subject.

"I'm trying to convince Billy to ask Trini to the homecoming dance," Kimberly explained.

"Looks like _convince_ is the key word there mate," Avalon commented, her eyes scanning Billy's face. Kimberly nodded. Avalon looked a Billy a moment longer, causing him to look over at her. As soon as he did, she sucked in a short breath and turned her attention to Tommy and Zack. "You guys got dates?"

"Yep." Tommy nodded. "I'm going with Kim and Zack is going with Angela." He placed a hand on Zack's shoulder and lightly shook him. "Though I'm still wondering how he was able to convince her to go with him." He laughed.

"Hey man, at least I got her to agree to go with me," Zack reminded him.

"True."

Avalon rested her chin in her hands. "The way I see it," she said to Billy. "You're just afraid that you're one of the only ones that won't have a date to the dance, if she turns you down, right?" She asked. Billy looked at her, astonished. "I see I hit the nail on the head." Leaning back, she stretched her arms. "The only way that you won't have a date is if you don't go ahead and ask her." She grabbed onto Billy's arm and stood him up. "I've seen you fight against Rita's and Zedd's monsters, doing this can't be that much more difficult. Just channel your inner ranger or whatever, yeah?"

She pushed him over towards Trini and sat back down.

"Ok, now that we have Billy and Trini figured out…" Kimberly smiled sweetly as she laced her fingers together. "Why don't you and Jason go to the dance together?" She asked Avalon. "He still doesn't have a date and I'm sure that you guys would have a lot of fun together."

"Dances aren't my thing," Avalon said, dead-pan. "And unlike using it as an excuse, I'm being completely serious. Being stuck in a gym, or whatever, for hours on end, listening to bad music, having to dress up in stuff I don't like." She shook her head. "No thanks." She leaned forward and placed her hands on the edge of the table. "Now, help me move this table so we can eavesdrop on Billy and Trini."

Tommy and Zack laughed before doing as they were told. With Kimberly's help, Tommy, Zack, and Avalon lifted their table and slowly shuffled it over towards Trini and Billy, so they could hear what they were saying. Bailey, who had gotten her food, turned and gave the older teenagers a funny look when she saw them moving the table over. Tommy signaled for her to be quiet and, giggling, she put a hand over her mouth and sat down in the chair he pulled out for her. The others quickly sat down and leaned forward, listening to Billy and Trini.

Billy lightly tapped Trini on the shoulder to get her attention. "Um...Trini?"

Trini turned around with a bright smile. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Oh hey Billy! What's up? Did you come here to help me get all of this stuff?" She motioned to the growing pile of drinks that Ernie was setting on the counter.

"Oh, yeah," Billy said quickly. "That is…if you don't mind." He looked at his feet before looking up at her again. She still had that sweet smile on her face.

"Of course it is," she said.

Billy smiled and looked over his shoulder, around the Youth Center, nervously rubbing his neck. When he saw that the other rangers and Bailey were listening to their every word, his nose scrunched up and he started to fumble with his glasses, dropping them a few times. He adjusted them before turning back to Trini. "Actually the real reason I came over to talk to you was to ask if you would like to go to the Homecoming Dance with me."

Kimberly let out a squeal as quietly as she could. Avalon and Bailey made faces at each other, Tommy smiled and laughed, and Zack rolled his eyes.

Trini's smile widened. "I'd love to, Billy." She nodded. "I'm sure it's going to be really fun." She tilted her head back towards the smoothies. "You mind helping me with these?" Billy reached out and grabbed a few of the smoothies that were on the counter and Trini grabbed the other. The two turned and stopped when they saw that the other rangers were now all smiling at them, though Avalon was smirking, and Bailey was looking at her hands.

"Way to go, Billy!" Zack cheered.

Billy blushed as they sat down at the table.

"Ok, now all we need to do is get Avalon to go to the dance," Kimberly said.

Avalon sighed loudly, tilting her head back so she was looking at the ceiling. "Seriously, you're not going to let that go are you?" She asked, running her hands over her face.

"No!" Kimberly insisted. "I want all of my friends-"

"Well, you don't have to worry about that. Yeah?" Avalon interrupted her. "Because we're not friends. Not really anyway." She ignored the looks that were being sent her away. Bailey elbowed her sharply in the side, shooting her a look as well. "And, like I said, I don't do dances." She shrugged, trying to think of a different excuse that wouldn't reveal her real problems. She didn't want to leave Bailey home by herself all night. "And it's not like I can find a date in zero-point-five seconds. I don't know anyone here."

"You can come with us!" Bulk suggested as he and Skull walked over to their table. He rested his hands on the back of Avalon's chair and leaned over her, speaking to everyone. "I mean would you rather go with these losers or hang out with us?" Avalon chuckled, shaking her head.

"She doesn't want to go to the dance with you, Bulk," Trini said, her upper lip curling.

"I wasn't talking about me," Bulk said. He pulled back, so that he wasn't crowding Avalon so much, and gave a proud smile. "I already have a date." He blew on his fingers and buffed them on his chest, the smug smile widening at the momentary silence accompanying his statement.

"Your mom doesn't count as a date," Zack pointed out.

Bulk frowned at the accompanying laughter from the rangers. Avalon was the only one that didn't laugh. "It's not my mom, and watch what you say about her!" He warned. He then turned and smacked Skull on the back. Skull gave a small smile and a nod, though he didn't look as convinced as Bulk did. "And I wasn't talking about me; I was talking about Skull here."

"Sorry." Kimberly jumped in. "She's going with Jason."

"I didn't even say that I'd go," Avalon pointed out. She reached up and rubbed her temples. All of a sudden, she had a headache. Her head was pounding so hard that every slight sound from Ernie's back room, clanging of pots and pans, made a lightning bolt of pain shoot through her head and body, making her visibly wince.

"You're going," Kimberly insisted, pointing at Avalon, who removed her hands from her temples and raised them defensively. "And you're going with Jason."

Avalon twisted in her chair and looked over at Skull, who had been quiet the whole time. He looked like he would rather be anywhere but there at the moment, which was odd, as he normally had something to say whenever he and Bulk were around. She could see now that she wasn't going to be able to get out of this. "I'll meet you there; I'll save a dance for you, or whatever."

"Ya see?" Skull's face lit up and he turned to Bulk with a superior smile on his face. But Bulk quickly shot that down with his comment. "I told you that some girl would say yes to you!" He put his arm around Skull's shoulders and led him away.

"Wow, Av, I didn't think I'd ever see the day where you actually decided that you'd go to a dance," Bailey teased. "Seeing you in a dress is going to be a highlight of my life." She placed a hand on her chest. "It's a good thing I have a camera so I can at least prove it if someone else wants to know."

"Shut up," Avalon replied. She ran a hand through her hair. "Can we please change the subject?"

"Hey guys," Jason greeted as he walked over to the group. He dropped his backpack to the ground and sat down in the last empty chair at the table. "Sorry I'm late, I had to stay after and talk to…" he trailed off, looking around. "What'd I just miss?"

"You and Avalon are going to the homecoming dance together," Bailey said. She leaned forward and gave him a sympathetic look. "Congratulations."

Jason gave her a funny look, shifting his weight on the chair that he was sitting on. "When'd this happen?" He held up a hand when Trini went to answer, effectively cutting her off. "No need to explain, I can smell that Kim was behind this."

"Excuse me for not wanting you to be alone, Jase," Kimberly said. She stuck her nose in the air. "I'm just looking out for a friend."

"Don't worry Kim, all of us are going to have a good time," Trini reassured her. She grabbed onto her wrist, gently squeezing it. "We worked hard on it and it's going to be amazing." She smiled at the faces around the table. "It'll be one that can't be topped."

"Keep hope alive there," Avalon deadpanned. She glanced over at Bailey and cleared her throat as he pager went off. "Actually, I came by so I could ask you guys something." She twisted her fingers together. "I was going to go out and start looking for a job and I need someone to watch Bailey for a couple of hours."

"Not as a babysitter," Bailey clarified. "I'm too old for a babysitter."

"I can do it," Tommy offered. He shrugged. "How hard could it be?"

Avalon gave a half smile as she got to her feet. "You have no idea, Tommo," she replied. She noticed the somewhat evil smile on Bailey's face and snapped before pointing at her. The other rangers turned to Bailey, who instantly replaced her evil smile with a winning one. "You have _no_ idea." Avalon then turned to Jason. "You don't have any problems with going to the dance with me? It seems that we don't have much of a choice, so if you don't want to-"

"Nah, its fine." Jason smiled at her. "It sounds like it's going to be fun."

Avalon looked like she was going to reply, but closed her mouth when her pager went off again. She flashed everyone the peace sign before leaving the juice bar. She started to run at a light jog, then stopped, her head exploding with each footfall. Cursing under her breath, Avalon rubbed her temples as she headed towards their headquarters; an abandoned warehouse at the outskirts of the city. It was rundown; holes lining the walls, the structure was a few years away from potentially falling down on itself. However, it was a place that a few of them called home and where Craig insisted that they meet up whenever they got the chance. If he was asking for them to go there today, something big was going down.

 _Hopefully it has nothing to do with the High Flyers,_ Avalon thought. _I don't think I can handle that so soon._ She ran a hand over her face before slapping herself on the cheeks. _Wake up, Av. You could handle this before, you can do it now._

When Avalon arrived at the warehouse, the rest of the gang was already there. They all turned away from Craig, who was explaining something as she closed the door behind her. Avalon didn't care about any of what they thought except Chase. Being the leader, he was the one that had personally asked her to join them, promising a family and money in return for her services. She had to go through a lot to get into the gang and she still wasn't sure if she had his respect and trust. It was something so hard to obtain….Chase didn't trust anybody.

"You're late!" He barked at her.

"Yeah…" Avalon shrugged, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. "What's going on? What'd I miss?" She used her shoulder to wipe her hair from her face.

_Blueprints. We're going over a massive hit. We want to get at least five or six houses. Pawn it off, then get the weapons and ammo that we need to defend our turf against the High Flyers. They're starting to inch in on our territory as each day goes by and we need to show them that we mean business._

Avalon closed her eyes.

"Blueprints." Chase watched her. "We're going over-"

"Yeah, yeah," Avalon said. She opened her eyes. "I got it." She let out a mixture of a yawn and a sigh, rubbing her neck. Her communicator went off and she stiffened for a second. All eyes returned to her once more. She wasn't able to ignore it this time.

Chase whipped his head towards her. "Do you have somewhere you need to be?" She could hear the underlying threat in his voice.

Avalon slowly lowered her wrist, then shook her head. "No," she replied. "I don't."


	11. Trust Fall

**Chapter 11**

_Trust Fall_

* * *

 

Tommy was never one that was extremely confident around girls.

Yes, he had those that said that he was good looking, he had been flirted with many times, and he had been told that he had a great smile. So how could that mean that he was shy? Even he didn't know, his and Kim's relationship had gone slowly because of that (not to mention all of the ranger stuff that got in the way) and thing were going pretty well between the two of them. Still, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do as a boyfriend, so he took cues from the movies and TV shows that she liked to watch as well as being a nice guy in general. It seemed to work in his favor.

But what of all of that was he supposed to do with an eleven year old girl? This wasn't even an ordinary eleven year old girl, she was as smart as Billy, as sweet as Kim, as playful as Zack…somehow a combination of all of his friends. And yet, he had no idea what to do to entertain her. The first time that Tommy had offered to watch after Bailey when Avalon went to go look for a job, the two of them ended up hanging around Ernie's and watching as Jason taught his martial arts class. They didn't really talk to each other. Then they had a monster attack against Arieselle once more and had been beaten again. This time they were beaten as badly as they had been before, and as quick. Avalon had managed to join into the fight at the very end, apologizing profusely for not being there in time.

Tommy had said that it was ok, but it was far from being ok. Arieselle was a strong monster, stronger than any of them had ever faced before and they were going to need everyone there that they could. It wasn't even that he didn't trust her; they had to learn how to trust everyone and he knew that from the way that Avalon continued to look at them and hesitate before speaking or answering a question that she didn't particularly trust them either.

Tommy smiled to himself as he watched Bailey busy herself with an arcade game. It was her idea that they went to the arcade, saying that she wanted something for him to do instead of just literally watching her. _She doesn't seem to have a problem with trusting the rest of us. She's been really great in the Command Center as well._ Earlier that day, Avalon had asked him to meet Bailey after school to look at her as she had to go somewhere.

"So just make sure that she doesn't go to the Command Center or whatever," Avalon said as she and Tommy walked to the doors of Angel Grove High. Her fingers fluttered on the straps of her backpack as she looked up and down the street. Tommy's eyebrows lowered as he watched her, it looked like she was about to jump out of her skin at every slight sound. "She likes to spend a lot of time there and I'm starting to get tired of having to go there and drag her out of there."

"I don't think that'll be a problem," Tommy said with a light laugh. "I mean, Billy's not there, so…"

Avalon turned to him, smirking. "You noticed the little crush too?"

"Actually, Kim was the one that point it out to me, but yeah." Tommy shrugged. "Anyway, don't worry about it. I'll watch her like a hawk."

"You better," Avalon warned. "She can easily get away from you if you don't pay too much attention." With that she turned and started off down the sidewalk. Tommy went in the opposite direction, over to Angel Grove middle school. It didn't take long for him to find Bailey; she was standing off to the side, by herself, pouting slightly.

"Hey Bailey," Tommy greeted her. He walked over and held out his hand. Bailey glanced at him for a moment before taking off her backpack and handing it over to him. He slid it onto his free shoulder and the two started to walk away from the school. "How was school today?"

"Ok." Bailey replied. She shrugged. "It's kinda boring really. It's not as challenging as I thought school would be." She looked up at him, her hair falling out of her face. "My Mum and Dad wanted me to skip grades, but I wasn't allowed to. Now I'm stuck."

"Really?" Tommy's eyebrows rose. "They wanted you to skip a few grades?" Bailey nodded. "So…what do your parents do?"

"My Dad's a captain of something," Bailey said slowly. Tommy laughed as her features scrunched up in thought. From what he had seen of her for the short amount of time that he'd known her, she always seemed to have that look on her face, always thinking about something. "I don't know really, he didn't say. My Mom used to be a nurse before she got sick."

"She got sick?" Tommy's eyebrows rose. At the concerned tone in his voice, Bailey bit her lip, looking at her feet.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "But she's OK now. She just…I don't know, it's hard to explain." She crossed her arms over her stomach, the pout coming back to her face. After a few moments she dropped her arms and looked up at him again. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"Um." Tommy scratched his forehead. This was the part that he didn't like; he knew what little boys liked to do for fun. They just wanted to run around and do whatever they could to get dirty. He was an only child, was never really around kids that much as it was, how was he supposed to know if the thing that he was interested in would interest her? "What do _you_ want to do?"

"Let's go the arcade!" Bailey's eyes lit up as she raised her fists to the air. "I can sooo beat you at air hockey!"

"You're on!" Tommy replied. He held out his fist and Bailey bumped it. "Loser…has to buy the other one ice cream. Deal?"

"Deal!" Bailey gave him a thumbs up.

_Maybe this won't be so bad._

Now here he and Bailey were, ten games of air hockey in, tied, and had decided to take a break and try a different arcade game. This one was of the Street Fight variety and she seemed to be really into the game, her fingers flying over the buttons and the joystick, "If this is how you act over a video game, I'd love to see what it would be like if you were in an actual fight."

"Ask Av," Bailey said, her eyes still glued to the screen. "She gets into fights a lot." Her face paled and she dropped her hands away from the video game, allowing her character to be beaten mercifully, resulting in a K.O. "I mean…she used to get into trouble and stuff…she used to get into fights. Mum and Dad didn't like it."

Tommy watched as she continued to look at her feet, chewing her lower lip. He studied her hard, noticing that her lower jaw trembled slightly. Sighing, Tommy crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't particularly believe her…there was something about the way that she continued to clam up or turn her gaze away from him that was starting to put him off. _And here I thought that I was staring to make some progress with her._ Tommy's eyes moved back over to the video game that Bailey was now absentmindedly messing with the joystick. He looked at the fighters on screen and a proverbial light bulb appeared in his mind.

"Hey, why don't I teach you how to fight?" He offered. Bailey looked at him out of the corner of her eye, her eyes narrowed in suspicion behind her glasses. "Just me and you. I do martial arts too…me and Jase spar sometime. And we can do it whenever Avalon wants me to babysit you," he continued.

Bailey finally turned to look at him. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Tommy agreed. His eyes widened in surprise as a large smile slid across Bailey's face and she started to jump up and down.

"That's so ace! Oh my god, thank you so much! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She stopped jumping and clasped her hands together. "This is going to be so cool! Av never lets me do something like this! When can we get started? Today?! Please?" Each question came as soon as the last one ended, barely giving Tommy a chance to make sense of them. He started to answer, but stopped when a panicked expression slid onto Bailey's face.

Before he could ask what was wrong, she turned and raced to the girls' bathroom. Tommy hesitated, looking around the arcade, wondering what to do. There were a bunch of kids yelling, shouting, and laughing with each other, playing whatever games they could get their hands on. Adults were sitting aside, waiting for their kids to finish playing whatever games they were playing. They all sat back in their seats, casually talking to each other. Tommy looked around for a female worker or for someone that would be able to go into the bathroom to check on her. But he couldn't find anyone. Hesitantly, he walked over to the bathroom and knocked on the door.

"Bailey?" He called. "Are you ok?"

"No!" Bailey called back. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again. "Something's…wrong," she finally said. There was a shuffling sound and Tommy was sure that he could hear her sniffing. "I mean…it's not wrong….but….I'm….um…"

Tommy pressed his ear against the door and waited for her to say something. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"I'm….bleeding," Bailey finally said. There was a long moment of silence on both sides of the bathroom. Tommy's face and progressively turned a bit red. He now understood what was going on…but he had no idea what to do. He was a _guy!_ He wasn't supposed to have this problem. Kim dealt with it herself and only brought it up around him once, just to watch him blush and stutter and try to figure out how to get the topic of conversation off of it. She teased him mercifully afterwards, but had otherwise dropped it. "Is…this your first time?"

"Yes," Bailey said quietly.

"Ok. Ok. Let me think." Tommy ran a hand over his face. A million thoughts ran through his head, he could try calling his Mom…but that would probably gross him out as much as he knew that she had to have gone through it too. Maybe Avalon….wasn't sure how she was going to react to it. "Ok, let me just call Kim and I'll figure out what to do, ok?"

"Ok…"

Tommy backed away from the bathroom and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He punched in his girlfriends' number and waited for her to pick up. "Don't tell me that you're already throwing in the towel," Kimberly teased as soon as she picked up the phone. "I was just telling Trini that I was expecting you to call."

"Thanks for that vote of confidence, Beautiful," Tommy replied with a light roll of his eyes. He smiled when she started giggling. "Is Trini with you too?" He thought that he could hear her in the background and then placed a hand on his hip. "Don't tell me that you're at the mall again."

"Ok, I _won't_ tell you," Kimberly replied.

Tommy laughed quietly to himself. "Ok, so, Bailey and I are at the arcade and…uh…something happened."

"Don't tell me you lost her!" Kimberly gasped. He could a smacking sound and was sure that she had dropped her hand onto the table. "What?" He could hear Trini over the phone. "Did he lose her? What's going on, Kim?"

"No, I didn't lose her." Now it was Tommy's turn to bite his lip. "I…well…she….she's bleeding," he finally said. His face enflamed once more when there was a silence on Kimberly's end. She then started to laugh uncontrollably. "Kim, it's not that funny! I need to figure out what to do!"

"Ok, do you have a quarter or something?" Kimberly asked. "If you do, give her one and tell her to put it in the machine that's in the bathroom, all girls' bathrooms have one, so she knows what it's for. Just tell her to use what's inside and wait. Don't rush her or pressure her or anything. This is a delicate situation."

"Ok," Tommy said. "I guess I can handle that."

"Do you want me to come by and-"

"No! No, I can handle this," Tommy said. He tightened his grip on his cell phone. "Don't worry about me. I'll see you later, ok?" He said 'bye' to Kimberly before hanging up the phone and turning back to the bathroom door. "I have a quarter that you can use," he said, digging in his pocket. Once he found it, he lightly knocked on the door. "So you can get…what you need from the bathroom." The door opened a second later and Bailey's hand shot out. Tommy placed the quarter into her palm and she brought her hand back, slamming the door shut behind her, barely moving her fingers out of the way in time. "I'll just wait out here, OK?"

Tommy walked over to an empty table and sat down, crossing his legs at the knee as he waited for her to appear once more. His mind wandered, going from topic to topic, landing on Rita and Zedd and Arieselle. There had to be something to be able to defeat the monster…it always ran around, gaining speed and power each time it took a lap, and then it had that energy blast form its horns. He had to admit that Rita and Zedd had outdone themselves on this monster. _And this isn't going to be the end; they're going to do all they can to make sure that they take over and we're going to do everything we can to stop them._ He looked up as Bailey shuffled over to him; once again, her gaze was on her feet.

She pulled herself into the seat across from him. For the next few minutes, the two would look at each other and then look away, not sure who was going to be the first one to speak. _Things were going so well, too._ Tommy cleared his throat, sitting up. If things were going to progress, he was going to have to be the one that stepped up.

"Do you still want that ice cream?"

Bailey eyed him critically. "I'm too old for bribes, Tommy," she said. Sitting up, she laced her fingers together and placed them on the table top. She looked him directly in the eye, her face as blank as a professional poker player's. "So why don't we just cut to the chase. None of us will bring this conversation up again. We'll act like it never happened and I won't kick your butt in air hockey." She smiled sweetly.

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry; I believe I was the one that was beating _you_." He pointed at her. Bailey reached out and slapped his finger away.

"I don't think so," she replied. "From my calculations, I have the upper hand due to being young. I've got the better hand-eye-coordination, the better reflexes, and I'm smarter than you."

"And you're not modest," Tommy added dryly. "You forgot that part."

Bailey smiled again. She rested her chin in her hands and blushed a little. "Thanks, Tommy," she said quietly. "For…not making a big deal about this…" Her face turned redder and she started to twirl her hair around her fingers.

"No problem, Bailey," Tommy replied. "That's what friends are for."

Bailey blinked in surprise, smiled, and nodded. "Yeah," she agreed.

* * *

 

Billy chewed on the eraser to his pencil for a moment before leaning forward and scribbling in his notebook. He paused and leaned back, lifting the notebook in his hands. Equations and notes and formulas stared back at him. He frowned, not able to make heads or tails of any of it. They were just ideas that he had ever since Avalon and Bailey had first come over to explain what had been going on with her. She was hearing things that no one else could hear, that would be said later, she could run fast, could lift a lot of weights, and was strong. None of that had happened with the other rangers, so he wasn't sure how she was different, apart from her becoming a ranger after the others had.

Billy leaned forward once more and wrote down in his notebook: _Direct link between new powers? Corrupted morpher?_

That mixed in with other notes, one that was circled was _new power source?_ Others had been looked into, but then crossed out. Billy groaned in frustration, taking off his glasses and holding his hands over his eyes. Why was this one thing that was giving him the most trouble? He came up with the communicator with no problems? He could fix it in a matter of hours if there was a malfunction. He could tap into the morphing grid, the teleportation unit, and could create weapons to stop Rita and Zedd with whatever they threw his way.

But he couldn't figure this out?

 _That's what being a scientist is all about, Billy_ , he reminded himself. _Things aren't always going to jump out at you every time. It takes a lot of hard work._ He turned around at the sound of a ranger teleporting into his garage. "Oh, Avalon, you're here!" He greeted her, standing up from his chair.

"Yeah, you said that you needed my help, so what's up?" Avalon took off her leather jacket and tossed it aside. She reached an arm up to rub her neck and Billy's eyes moved over to the inside of her forearm. A bruise was forming and from where he was standing, it looked pretty nasty. Avalon followed his gaze and quickly lowered her arm, shuffling her feet. "What's up?" She repeated.

"I wanted to see if there was anything else that I could figure out about your new abilities," Billy explained. He walked over to his work bench and picked up a clipboard and a pencil. "Any new developments that you can tell me about? Any side effects? Trouble sleeping?"

"What with Rita and Zedd being about, I don't get a lot of zeds as it is," Avalon said slowly. She eyed him up and down as he started to scribble on his clipboard. "Um…" she scratched the back of her neck. "Nothing else that I can think of…oh, I can run really fast," she added. "Like…if I can get home from here in a matter of seconds."

Billy raised his head to look at her. "You mean by-"

"Not teleportation, mate, no," Avalon denied.

"Hmm." Billy finished writing down on his clipboard and then motioned over to a chair that he had set up in the middle of the room. Next to it was a complicated looking machine that seemed to only be used in the doctor's office to monitor the patient's blood pressure, but there were a bunch of wires with suction cups attached to it as well. The monitor was blank, but Avalon eyed it warily. "Would you mind if I attached you to this machine? I want to check your power levels."

"It's not going to electrocute me, is it?" Avalon took a step back from him. She tilted her head to the side. "I mean, the monster and ranger powers I can deal with, death by electrocution, not really."

"No, you're not going to be electrocuted," Billy reassured her. _Not that I think, anyway._ "This is a prototype of what Alpha and Zordon used when they were creating the White Ranger powers. I thought it would come in handy if there was ever a time that we couldn't get back to the command center if something went wrong," Billy explained. "It can measure your vitals, as a human, as well as measure your abilities as a ranger." He held up a hand. "It's secure as far as I'm aware of."

Avalon turned to him with a skeptical look. "And you think I'm just going to willingly get into that thing?"

"I hoped that you'd trust me enough to help me, yes," Billy said calmly. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Avalon…what you can do…it might be something that can help us with Rita's and Zedd's new monster. You might be what we can use to tap into a new power source that the rest of us have the ability to tap into as well."

"So why haven't Alpha and Zordon done something about it?" Avalon asked slowly.

Billy saw something flash across her face-maybe guilt-when she mentioned the robot and mentor that the rangers looked up to. She turned her head to glance at the bruise on her arm and briefly closed her eyes before turning back to him. Billy studied her face for a long moment, wondering if there was something else she was going to say. When she stayed quiet, he continued. "Zordon and Alpha have entrusted me to work on this-"

"They don't even know do they?" Avalon interrupted. She threw hand up in the air. "As much as they can't, considering they're probably watching our every move."

 _She sounds bitter,_ Billy realized. That look across her face was of bitterness, not of guilt. It was evident from the way that she had said it. Was she still having doubts of being a ranger? "Do you trust me or not?" He repeated. "Please. This could really help everyone. You said that you wanted to be part of the team, so act like a part of team."

Avalon looked at him in surprised before nodding. Billy motioned to the chair once more and Avalon sat down, dropping her hands into her lap. Billy started to walk around her, placing the suction cups on to her forehead, neck, and collar bones. Once he was sure that they were all in place, he turned on the monitor. A smile tugged at his lips as Avalon twitched for a second and glared at him.

"You said I wouldn't get shocked!" She spat, accusingly.

"No, I said you wouldn't get electrocuted," Billy reminded her. He picked up his clipboard and pencil, looking at the monitor. Different colored lines squiggled up and down the monitor as it continued to run. Billy wrote down a few notes before turning to address Avalon once more. "These are your vitals." He pointed to the right corner of the screen. "Your blood pressure, internal temperature, and the like are in good health."

"So what are the squiggles?" Avalon crossed her legs at the knee.

"The wavelengths are the enhanced abilities from your powers," Billy explained. He point to a bright pink one. "This is your brain wavelength…which would directly correlate to your being able to read people's minds."

"I can't read their minds," Avalon said hesitantly. "I can…hear what they say before they say it. Clairvoyance, remember."

"Some believe that it's a direct link to reading minds," Billy corrected himself. He tapped his pencil against his chin. "Which is really fascinating, especially because the brain is directly connected to every central nerve and muscle of your body, giving them messages to move when they need to be moved." He crossed his arms over his chest. "It's also what brings you the sense of pain, that little message. So something must be going on with your central nervous system…that would explain your increased strength and speed."

"That still doesn't explain anything to me," Avalon said. She gave a sheepish smile, running her hand through her hair. "I'm not great when it comes to science and biology."

"Has anything…ever happened to you when you were a kid?" Billy held up a hand when Avalon scowled with impatience. "I know that you said that you haven't…but I really need you think about it. Something that was weird to you…something that was unexplainable." He watched Avalon's face go from a scowl to pensive. As she thought about it, he continued to watch the wavelengths as they moved across the screen, each color representing a different part of her powers.

"Wait…" Avalon said slowly. Billy turned back to her, watching as her face contorted into concentration. "There was this one time…I was really young…I was going to the garage…to ask Dad a question…and there was this flash of light…I don't know what it was…" she shook her head, gripping the ends of her hair. "He was working on something and when he saw me, he made me leave the room. He never mentioned anything after that."

"Well, is there any way I can talk to your father?" Billy asked.

Avalon's face darkened once more. "How do you plan on doing that without revealing everything?"

"Trust me," Billy replied. "What's your father's name?"

"William," Avalon said slowly. "But don't bother calling him now; he's on a business trip. He's always out of town for some part of his job." She shrugged. "But I can let him know that you want to talk to him…he'll get back to you when you can."

Billy had the feeling that she was giving him the runaround, but had no way to prove it. He just wrote her father's name out on the clipboard and continued to take notes from what was happening on the monitor. When that was finished, he turned it off, pulled the suction cups off of her and picked up a cotton swab. "I need a bit of your DNA too."

"Why don't you just take some tone nails or something?" Still, Avalon obediently opened her mouth wide, lowering the back of her tongue so Billy could rub the cotton swab on the inside of her cheek. She held up a hand. "Let me guess, something about getting DNA easier from saliva than a toe nail or a piece of my hair, right?"

Billy smiled at her. "You _do_ pay attention in science."

"No, I just hear Bailey go on and on about stuff like this and something was bound to get locked up here." She tapped herself on the forehead then moved her arms behind her back, gently twisting back and forth, much like a little kid could. When she caught Billy's gaze, she quickly looked away from him. "So, are you done or…?"

"For now," Billy said. He sighed heavily, dropping the q-tip into a plastic baggie and marking it with a sharpie. "Now that I have all of this…there's still going to be a lot of work that I need to do." He walked over to his work bench and placed it amongst his other findings. He was going to have to clean up a little if stuff was going to get done. "Then again, a scientist's work is never complete." He laughed to himself. "Thanks for your help, Avalon."

"No worries." Avalon picked up her jacket and started to walk to the garage door. She grabbed onto the doorknob and pushed it open, then paused. "Hey Billy." Avalon stopped at the door, turning back to him. She rested her hands on the doorframe, a peaceful expression sliding on her face.

"Yes?" Billy pushed his glasses up his nose, putting down his clipboard. He had moved over to the computer that was sitting on the desk in the corner of the garage and started to type on it. When his name was called, he turned to face her.

"You can call me, Av," she said before disappearing from the doorway.


	12. Double Trouble (1)

**Chapter 12**

_Double Trouble_

"C'mon Av!"

"No, and don't call me, Av." Avalon stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against the chair that she was sitting in. She looked around the youth center before focusing on the newspaper that she held in her hands. There were a few ads already circled. "Besides, I've got to look for a job, remember?" _Anything to keep up this ruse. God, it's getting harder than I thought._

"So why don't you work here?" Trini suggested. She brushed her long hair behind her ears. "I'm sure that Ernie won't mind if you try out for the job, he always says that he's looking for someone to help her out."

Avalon looked at her over the top of her newspaper. "I'll go along with that at the same time that you actually convince me to get a dress for the homecoming dance." She set the newspaper down on the table and brought her arms up to rest on her upraised knee then jerked her head over to Jason who had been sitting quietly at their table, doing some homework. "And that sounds about as much fun as a root canal, mate," Avalon dead-panned. "Considering the fact that we weren't even ask if we wanted to go, _Kim!"_

At the sudden sharp turn of Avalon's tone, Kimberly, Jason, Zack, and Billy all looked up from their homework to see what was going on. At the mention of her name, Kimberly gave a sweet smile. Avalon continued, "but, hey, I guess I can spare _one_ night away from watching Bailey like a hawk."

Jason smiled, shaking his head. "Don't do me any favors," he replied smoothly. Avalon gave him the finger.

'Aww isn't that sweet!" Zack pushed back his chair and got up. He walked around the table until he was standing behind the red and orange rangers. Grinning, he bent down and put his arms around their shoulders, pulling them closer together. "They're having a lover's spat already." He grinned as he looked back and forth between the two rangers. Jason was smiling and laughing at Zack's antics and Avalon looked annoyed. "So, when's the wedding."

"Zack, leave them alone," Trini said, reaching out and pushing Zack on the shoulder. "You're not funny." She shook her head as she turned to Avalon. "Come on, Avalon, it's just dress shopping. It's not like I asked you take part in one of Billy's experiments. She tilted her head over to Kimberly. "Has he used you for any experiments yet? Did anyone tell you about the time that he accidentally switched his and Kimberly's bodies?"

"Ugh, I don't want to think about that again," Kimberly said. She shuddered as if someone asked her to eat a snot sandwich. Kimberly ran her hands over her face and then held them out in front of her, as if trying to keep a frog from touching her. "Glasses really did nothing for me."

"Thanks, Kim," Billy said sarcastically.

Kimberly gave him a sweet smile.

"By the way, Kim, did you ever find that pearl necklace that you were looking for?" Trini asked, turning to her best friend. "You know the one that you were going to wear for the homecoming dance?"

Avalon gave a start, jostling the table. Her eyes narrowed as she looked over at Kimberly and listened closely as she responded to Trini's question. Kimberly shook her head, looking a little down. "No, I still can't find it and it was going to go perfectly with my dress!" She wrinkled her nose. "It's so weird, Mom's gold necklace disappeared too, and she still can't find that."

 _Shit._ Avalon raised a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes warily. She let out a sigh, lowering her hands from her face. She noticed Jason looked at her funny and composed herself the best that she could, shoving her hands into her leather jacket pockets, lightly rocking back and forth on the chair's back legs. _You've got to be kidding me. Way to go, Chase, nice house you picked._

Though she did know that she had to blame herself for most of it, she was the one that willingly went along with the plan both times….and every other house before. The money was important, but never in a million years did she think that she would ever steal from someone that was actually going to be that close to her. Now things were getting messy. Being a power ranger was supposed to make things easier, to keep the lives separate. Everything was falling apart around her faster than she thought it was going to be a problem.

"I'm sure you'll find it, Pinkerbell, don't worry," Avalon waved a hand, but it was shaking.

Jason sat up, looking straight at her. His eyebrows were lowered in concern. "Av, are you sure you're ok?"

"Don't call me Av," Avalon responded quickly. She gritted her teeth for a moment, wondering why she said that it was alright for Billy to call her that. Now everyone else had fallen into that pattern and it was already starting to get on her nerves. She glanced over at Billy, thinking about the conversation that they had. He now knew her father's name and was going to try and get into contact with him soon. It was like she was starting to lose her control on everything. "And I'm fine. Just a little cold." She pulled her jacket tighter around her for emphasis.

"Don't change the subject Avalon," Kimberly said, placing her hands on her hips. "The dance is this weekend and you need to get a dress!"

"I told you," Avalon said. "I already _have_ a dress!" She tapped her pen on the table in front of her. "It's in my closet and I have the shoes to go with it. I'm sure Jason's tux or whatever matches it fine, considering its mostly black."

"Are you trying to steal my color?" Zack demanded. Avalon reached over and pointed at his shirt. He looked down and she flicked him on the nose. Zack laughed and rubbed his nose. "Good one, I haven't tried that in a while." He looked thoughtful. "Speaking of the dress, where are we meeting up to take pictures?"

"We could all meet up at Kim's place," Jason suggested. "I think she said something about her mom getting a limo." Kimberly nodded to acknowledge that what he had said was true. Jason then turned to Avalon. "I can pick you up at your place and then we can head over to Kim's."

Avalon's mind raced with as many excuses she could come up with in a matter of seconds. It shouldn't have been that hard, she made so many excuses for everything for the past couple of years, why did it have to be so difficult now? "I'm not sure my parents are gonna be around," Avalon said slowly.

"Your dad's still on his business trip?" Billy closed his textbook, already finished with his homework. He moved his notebook over to help Kimberly out on a problem she had been struggling with for the past half hour. "I figured he would have been back by now."

"It got extended." Avalon started to twirl her hair around her finger. "Government worker and all that, things happen all the time." She dropped her hair and shrugged.

"So what does your Mom do?" Trini gave Avalon a kind smile, not wanting to scare her off. She found it better to be friends with someone by showing that they weren't trying to be intrusive or nosy. And while Avalon was still weary around them, she felt they had, at least, gotten a bit closer. "Does she work for the government too?"

"No, Mum's a teacher." Avalon leaned over as her pager went off, trying to look at the number that was calling her. "But she does some tutoring and stuff on the weekends too; I think she already had plans with some friends before we realized that it was the same day as homecoming."

"She'll tell you the same thing about the dress though." Kimberly seized the opportunity to try and persuade her once more. "You need to get a new one."

Avalon looked at her watch. "Yeah, sure." She grabbed her backpack straps and started to back away from the other rangers. "But I've got a phone call to make, just need to be sure that Tommy's OK. Who knows what kind of torture Bailey's putting him in? So…I'll see you later." She turned on her heel and speed walked over to the counter.

"Hi Avalon," Ernie greeted her, drying a glass with a dish towel. "What can I get for you? Have you put away all of those smoothies already?"

"Actually, I need to use your phone," Avalon said. She noticed Ernie's glance over towards the pay phones that were set up all around the Youth Center. "It's sort of an emergency and I need to be sure that I get connected. Please?"

Ernie hesitated for a minute before nodding his head back towards the back room. "Just this once, because it's an emergency," he said. Avalon nodded and hurried behind the counter and into the back room. Her heart thudded against her rib cage so hard that she was starting to feel nauseous; she could feel herself starting to sweat. Pulling open the door, she went inside Ernie's office and headed over to the phone. When the door slammed shut behind her, she jumped, letting out a started cry.

Whirling around, a relieved sigh escaped her lips, blowing her hair off of her forehead. "It's just the door Avalon, calm down." Raising her hands to her face, she took a couple more deep breaths. "Relax. No one's here. Nothing's going to happen." Everything that she was trying to hide was causing her guilt and paranoia to run wild and she wasn't sure how much longer she could take before she had a complete mental breakdown.

Avalon dropped heavily into the large armchair, setting back into the leather, allowing it to envelop her, giving her a sense of comfort. Once the muscles in her back and neck loosened, she opened her eyes again. _Relax, everything will be OK._ Reaching forward, Avalon picked up the phone and quickly dialed a familiar number.

"Angel Grove Auto Shop, how may I help you?" Came the cheerful reply. Avalon's upper lip curled at the greeting. These people lived in a city that was attacked by monsters on a nearly daily basis and they were still that happy? Must be something in the water.

Avalon cleared her throat. When she started speaking, her voice cracked, but she recovered enough to be clear over the phone. "Uh, yeah, my name is Avalon; I'm looking for my mate, Chase, is he there?" Avalon's grip on the phone tightened with each passing second.

"No, he's not here right now, in fact…I don't think that he's scheduled to work today."

"Are you sure?" Avalon rested her forehead on her upraised palm. She could feel her breathing becoming unsteady, sure that she was about to pass out.

"I can double check if you want me to. Do you need to leave a message?"

Avalon slapped a hand on the counter, resting her forehead against it before bringing the phone back up to her ear. "No, I don't need to leave a message," she lowered her voice. "Thanks." Avalon replaced the phone in the cradle before standing up straight and running her hands over her face. She slammed her fist on the table. "Fuck!"

Avalon tried to push down the overwhelming sense of panic that was threatening to take her over. She stole Kimberly's necklace, she knew that for sure at this point. She was still working with her gang, as there was no other way to get money, she was keeping that a secret while trying to be a ranger, she was the reason Bailey couldn't bring any friends over to the apartment, she was the reason Bailey was caught up with the rangers, and now she was trying to keep all of that from getting out in the open.

She couldn't deal with all of that coming out in the open, not if she couldn't find a way to fix it herself. If she knew that things were going to get this bad, she would have gone back to Australia when she had the chance.

There had to be a way she could fix this.

* * *

 

"Bye Tommy!" Bailey called, waving towards the white ranger as she walked down the front steps of the Oliver house. Avalon lifted her chin in a nod to the white ranger before putting her arm around Bailey's shoulders and steering her off down the street. Bailey hitched her backpack up her shoulder and moved to Avalon's side as the two started down the sidewalk to get back home.

They hadn't gotten far in their journey when a familiar voice stopped them.

"Avalon! Bailey!"

Avalon stopped short. Bailey stopped and looked up at her eldest sister. The two of them had definitely heard their names being called. Looking around, Avalon squinted when she spotted a familiar figure walking towards them. Bailey let out a gasp.

"Dad!"

Avalon and Bailey darted into the empty street and over to their Mr. Mitchell as he continued to walk steadily towards them, a large smile on his face. Avalon reached her father first, throwing her arms around his upper chest. Bailey collided into their sides a second later, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Bailey asked as the two girls stepped back. Her smile was so wide it could split her face. "Did you find Mum?"

"Yeah and how'd you figure out where we were?" Avalon asked, taking a small step away from him, her arm still looped around his waist. She wiped a tear away from her eye as she looked up at her father. When did she start crying? Avalon didn't think about it, she was too busy looking up at her father. He was as tall as she remembered him with sandy brown hair, shinning brown eyes. His facial features mirrored Avalon's almost exactly, but in a more masculine way. He smiled down at her.

"Don't worry about that now," William said to his daughters. "Just think that we're together now. Are you guys hungry? Have you eaten anything lately? I'm starving. Oh and how about all of your friends? Have you made any when you started going to Angel Grove?"

Avalon froze as she looked up at her father. There was something off about him. He looked exactly like him, he smelled the same. He _sounded_ the same, but still there was something off about the way that he had asked if they had any friends…and how did he know, if he was gone for so long, that they had started going to Angel Grove High?

Before Avalon could move, her father grabbed her arms and pinned them to her sides. She gasped as he lifted her of off of her feet. Her arms pinned against her sides and squeezing tighter, Avalon's gasp transformed into a cry of pain. She could hear Bailey's scream and then a second later; she could feel the hands of her father's morph and change. When Avalon opened her eyes, she saw a humanoid looking monster in front of her. To her surprised, it morphed to look like her mother, before turning back into her father.

When it spoke, it continued to use Mr. Mitchell's voice.

"Don't worry, honey, your father's here now, to protect you," as the monster spoke, a light green mist started to emanate from its body, circling Avalon. The mist continued to wrap around Avalon. As she listened to the monster, her dark brown eyes started to turn a bright green. "I'll always be here to protect you, you and Bailey. Don't worry, Avalon."

"Av!" Bailey cried as Z-Putties appeared around her and started to circle her. She ducked as one leapt towards her. Falling onto her back, she scrambled away as the putties closed in around her. Every where she turned, there was a putty reaching out towards her. Bailey's eyes widened in fear. "Av," she called desperately, her voice cracking. "Help me!"

But Avalon didn't move, she continued to be held by Rita's monster.

* * *

 

"Yes, yes, that's it!" Rita cried gleefully as she watched the scene unfold on earth. As one of the twin monsters continued to hold onto Avalon, the other was waiting in the trees for the other rangers to come around, ready to ambush them when needed. The putties grabbed Bailey and started to lift her to her feet. Her screams echoed around the lunar palace, causing Rita's smile to widen.

Behind her, Zedd watched in satisfaction. They had all of their monsters at their disposal to wear out the rangers while they finalized their plan to take over the world. This time, they weren't going to be defeated. A deep rumbling started in his chest before his laughter joined in with Rita's. He held up his Z-scepter in triumph. "We've got the Orange Ranger now!"

* * *

 

"You can't think that was too much of a coincidence, right?" Jason asked, grabbing everyone's attention. His eyes bored into the others around him as they waited for him to finish his statement. He had watched Ernie's office, to see if Avalon was going to come out, but she had just disappeared. If he had to guess, she teleported out of the Youth Center. And having it happen right after she got paged…it wasn't the first time he noticed her running away when she got a message from someone. It wasn't the first time he noticed, anyway. Who knew how long it had been going on?

"What do you mean?" Trini frowned.

"She gets a page and just disappears," Jason said, voicing his thoughts. "It's not the first time she's done it, either."

"Maybe it some sort of a family thing we don't know about," Zack suggested.

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed. "It's probably not a good idea that you're jumping to conclusions over this. Who knows what's really going on with her? Maybe someone in her family is sick." She started to twirl some loose hair around her finger, taking in Jason's words. He might have a point… She seemed to be running away from them, and then there were the weird friends that she had…The more she thought about it, the more she could see Jason's concerns.

"Actually…" Kimberly said slowly. "I think Jase is right." She clasped her hands together in front of her before she started to speak, waving her hand around as she did so. "I mean, a lot of strange things have been going on since we met Avalon. I'm not saying that she's behind all of it, but it is really weird. Her sister gets attacked at the park, she becomes a ranger…but she always has an excuse not to go somewhere or she's hanging out with her weird friends, and then things happen."

"And she always has a pager on her and it's constantly going off," Zack agreed. He reached out and lightly hit Billy on the arm. "We haven't gotten anything on our project done because she's always running away to do something, leaving everything behind." He rubbed his chin. "Plus she never lets us over to her house, we always go to mine or Billy's or we're at the Youth Center."

"So?" Trini asked. "She's still adjusting to life here-"

"How could she still be adjusting if she said that they lived here for years?" Kimberly interrupted. "But just transferred to Angel Grove High?" She shrugged, tilting her head back to look at Billy. He and Billy were the only ones that didn't seem convinced. "I'm sorry; I just think it's a little weird."

Everyone started to talk at once.

"Trust me," Jason held up his hands, getting everyone else to calm down. "If Rita and Zedd are really going to be after her, trying to figure out her identity as a ranger, things aren't going to go well. But we have to focus on that right now, that's the bigger problem that we have. But…" he took a deep breath, looking everyone in the face. "We can't rule out anything else. With what's been going on lately….she may know more than she's saying…"

Billy sighed. "There _is_ something that…I haven't told you," he said slowly. All eyes turned to him. "Avalon and Bailey have come to me recently, telling me that there are some extra abilities that Avalon has."

"What sort of extra abilities?" Zack's face was not of its usual jovial nature, now it was solemn. He hung on Billy's very word.

"She can run really fast," Billy said. He picked up his notebook and turned to a page that was filled with equations and notes. He passed it around for everyone to see, though he knew that only Trini would understand it. "For one, like, she can be here and then at her house in the next second. She's really strong, able to break things easily and lift a lot of weight. But…she can also hear voices in a way that it's like she can predict the future."

"You mean like a clairvoyant?" Trini speculated.

Billy nodded. "Exactly. I've done some preliminary scans on her…the readings don't make sense. Apparently something happened to her when she was young…something that had to do with her dad and a really bright light. I think that might have something to do with it."

"Have you shared any of this with Alpha?" Jason rubbed his chin. "Do they have any thoughts about it?"

"I haven't said anything to them yet," Billy admitted after a moment of hesitation. "I wanted to see if there was something that I could figure out first, but they might know more than I do. They were the ones that chose us as rangers, telling us that our powers chose us, maybe it's the same thing."

"Maybe," Jason agreed, "But what if-"

_Beep beep beep beep beep beep!_

The rangers all looked around the youth center, to be sure that no one was listening to them, before Tommy leaned forward and pulled his arm out, putting his communicator in the center of their circle so they could hear Zordon.

"What is it, Zordon?" Billy raised his communicator to his mouth to answer Zordon's call. Kimberly, Trini, Zack, and Jason crowded around him to hear what was going on.

_"Rita's monster and Zedd's Z-Putties are attacking Avalon and Bailey! They need your help! They're surrounded."_

"Got it." Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Trini, and Billy hurried from their seats and out of the Youth Center. Once they were sure that they were alone, they went into action. "It's morphin' time!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber Tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The rangers teleported to where Avalon and Bailey were and immediately went into action. Tommy arrived to help them a second later. He and Zack hurried over to the Z-Putties and started to attack them, trying to get to Bailey, who was being held by the arms and was being dragged away.

"I don't think so!" Tommy flipped over the circle of Z-Putties and landed on top of one of the putties that held onto Bailey. He pried its hand off of Bailey's wrist and then latched onto its arm. He spun once and threw the putty into the air. Tommy then shuffled on his feet and got a roundhouse kick to the other Z-putty, hitting it in the chest. It disintegrated, causing Bailey to stumble and fall to the ground. "Are you ok, Bailey?" Tommy asked her.

Bailey leapt up and grabbed onto Tommy, wrapping her arms around his neck as she started to cry. "Hey, it's alright! You're ok now." He pushed her back a little bit. "Go get to safety." He then spoke out loud. "Zordon, transport her to the command center.

As Bailey disappeared in a flash of white light, Tommy turned back to help Zack get rid of the other putties.

Jason, Kimberly, Trini, and Billy advanced on the monster that had its hands wrapped around Avalon. The mist continued to come from the monster's mouth, encircling Avalon. It continued to speak to her, although the rangers were advancing on it. They couldn't hear what the monster was saying, but they could tell it had Avalon in a trance. She continued to stare at the monster, listening to its every word, the green mist still around her.

"Rita's monster has her under some sort of spell," Kimberly gasped.

"We have to help her, or else she might end up like Tommy did," Billy said. He held out his hand. "Power Lance!"

"Power Daggers!"

"Power Bow!"

"Power Sword!"

Jason, Kimberly, Trini, and Billy raced towards Rita's monster, their weapons held high. Trini leapt forward and aimed her daggers at the monster. However, a blur shot out from the trees and smacked Trini across the chest, sending her backwards.

"Trini!" Billy cried.

When Kimberly tried to attack with her power bow, she was hit and knocked back, and Billy did the same. Jason managed to get a few hits, but was knocked back as well. Just like balls in pong, Jason, Kimberly, Trini, and Billy continued to bounce back and forth, trying to save Avalon from the grasp of the plant monster. But each time they got too close, the other monster would smack them back.

"Hahaha!" The newer monster laughed in triumph. She reached up, pushing her dark hair out of her face. "You can't defeat us. My brother and I…we have the same thoughts, the same movements, the same mind. You'll never be able to outsmart me and Nie."

"Guys, don't get too close!" Billy warned, holding out his lance. "She's really fast."

"We have to attack from a distance!" Trini agreed. "Power daggers!" She spun her daggers around her fingers before throwing them, hitting the monster that held Avalon. The arms were hit and Nie let out a scream of pain, retracting his hands. He dropped Avalon to the ground where she landed in a heap.

"Power Bow!" Kimberly pulled back the string on her weapon and let go. The arrows shot forward and struck the girl monster, causing it her stumble back with a scream of pain.

"Gemma!" Nie called, racing over to his sister.

"Power Lance!" Billy jumped high into the air and brought his weapon down across Gemma's face.

"Hiya!" Jason leapt up and struck Gemma as she started to fall. Nie reached her side and he swung his sword out in an arc, catching him as well. Nie let out a scream as he fell to the ground, flailing is arms and legs as it tried to get back up.

"Av!" Billy hurried to Avalon's side. "Avalon, are you ok?" He lifted her up into his arms, her head bobbing back, and she looked at him, her eyes still a slight green. "Avalon!"

As the seconds passed, Avalon's eye color returned to its original dark brown. Her eyes focused on Billy, a look of confusion passing through her orbs. Then everything came back to her. Her eyes immediately lowered to a glare as she got to her feet, breathing heavily. She grabbed her morpher and raised it. "Stegosaurus!"

Once she morphed into the orange ranger, Avalon charged forward and body slammed Gemma back to the ground. "Power Staff!" Her weapon appeared in her hand and she turned it in her hands until the spiked part was above the plant monster. "That's the last time you're going to mess with my sister!" She warned.

Gemma gave a cruel bark of laughter and flipped to her feet. With Ni by her side, the two backed up a few paces before shuffling forward and kicking Avalon in the chest, the force of the blow sending her back against the ground.

"Avalon!" Kimberly cried, a second before she was hit as well. She let out a grunt of pain, hitting the ground.

"Kim!' Tommy and Zack defeated the last of the putties before hurrying over to their friends. Zack helped Kimberly to her knees as Zack held out his hands, holding Gemma and Nie at bay. "Kim, are you ok?"

"I think so," Kimberly wheezed.

"These guys are stronger than we thought," Jason said. He held his power sword out in front of him, shifting it back and forth as he tried to figure out who to focus on. Gemma and Nie split up and started to circle the group in two different directions.

The group watched as Rita's wand came down from the sky and caused the monster to grow, towering all over all of the rangers. Tommy threw a hand into the air. "We need Megazord power, now!"

Their zords quickly came together to form the Megazord, while the Tiger Zord and Stegosaurus Zord ran up at the sides. The rangers jumped into their zords and quickly moved into their cockpits. Gemma and Nie got the upper hand against the rangers pretty quickly. Each time the Megazord or the Tiger Zord would go to attack, one of their combined attacks would knock the zords back.

Frustrated, Avalon charged up as much power as she could into her stegosaurus zord, as it spun in a fast circle. She gritted her teeth, holding on to the controls so hard that her hands were shaking from the effort. She couldn't relax, the anger that she was feeling was throbbing in her had. _How dare they use my father against us?_ Her zord continued to spin at a higher rate, continuing to gather power. The cockpit started to shake and warning sounds started to blare around her.

_Stegosaurs shields at five percent._

"Av!" Bailey's voice came through the cockpit. "You're using too much power."

"You're going to lose control of your zord," Alpha added. "Your power grid is failing."

Avalon ignored them. She slammed the two control sticks forward and the zord shot forwards and rocketed into Gemma and Nie. The force of the attack knocked the two of them to the ground, however they weren't out yet.

"What?" Jason cried.

"It's their power," Billy said. He was sitting at his control panel, his eyes searching the readings. "They work best together, when the two took the attack, it was less damage to them together as it would have been with one of them."

_Stegosaurus shields at zero percent. Power system failing. Self destruct commencing._

"Why not try this on for size!" Nie called. He and Gemma pulled their hands back and green electricity started to crackle around their hands. They moved their hands forward and shot the electricity towards Avalon's zord just as she was ejected from the cockpit and flung through the air, landing on the ground hard.

Avalon let out a grunt, curling up into a ball as pain coursed through her body. She could only watch as the other rangers turned their zords into the thunderzords. Even with more power, they were no match for the twin monsters. They were soon sent back to the ground as well. Gemma and Nie laughed evilly before disappearing back up to the Lunar Palace.

The rangers were then teleported back to the command center.

Avalon ripped off her helmet, her eyes flashing as she turned to Zordon. "What happened?" she demanded.

"Your power levels were too much for your zord," Zordon explained. "And your doubt as well as the extreme anger and ruthless fighting power caused you to lose control as well."

"Your zord isn't just a machine to fight," Trini explained as she and the other rangers took off their helmets as well. Avalon turned towards them, turning her glare towards them. "It's a part of you and you're a part of it. If you abuse the power of it…if you don't try to keep control, you'll lose control."

"So when can I use it again?" Avalon demanded. She heaved her helmet to the ground before starting to pace back and forth. "I'm not going to let Rita do that again!"

"Unfortunately, we're going to have to take time to figure out how much damage your zord has taken," Alpha said. "You also used so much power from your zord, for that one attack, that it can take a long time before its back up and running again." He turned around and picked up something. When he turned back, an animatronic stegosaurus rested in his palm. "As it stands, we don't know how to reverse Rita's magic."

"What happened to it?" Zack peered at the zord as it lifted its head, making a pitiful crying sound. "How did this happen?"

"And how were Rita's monsters so strong?" Tommy added. "It wasn't even a match for the thunderzords."

"Rita and Zedd must have figured out Avalon's identity," Zordon said, confirming everyone's fears. "They struck at the right time so that she was alone when they tried to take her over. That's what I've been afraid of."

Silently, Avalon reached out towards Alpha. He handed over her zord. The stegosaurus zord nestled into her palm, making another crying sound before dropping its head. Avalon stared. This was her fault. Just like everything else was. Would anything _ever_ go right for them?

Zordon's voice broke Avalon out of her trance. "For now, you're going to be co-piloting the Triceratops zord with Billy," Zordon said. Billy looked over at Avalon before looking up at Zordon, waiting patiently for his instruction. "I believe that he will be the best suited one to teach you how to use your power with the zord when you're able to pilot your own zord again."

"Yes, Zordon," Billy agreed.

Avalon let out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head. She looked over at Bailey, who had been quiet the whole time and walked over to her sister, wrapping her arms around her. Bailey clung onto Avalon as she started to cry. Avalon turned back to Tommy. "Thanks for getting her out of there, Tommo," she said.

Tommy smiled and nodded. "No problem."

"Avalon," Kimberly started, quietly. "What did the monster do to put you under its spell…it seemed like it was talking to you. Like it was trying to take you over like Alpha said." She looked over at Tommy, who suddenly had an angry look on his face. "Rita's magic is powerful…it almost got you."

"Maybe her other powers stopped it," Trini said. She walked over to Billy and placed a hand on his shoulder. 'Maybe we should test it…here…" she suggested. Billy reached up and grabbed her hand; he gently lowered it off of his shoulder and squeezed it before turning to Avalon.

"I need to be sure," he said to her. Avalon, mutely, nodded. He turned to Zordon. "Zordon, there are some other abilities that Avalon has that can't be explained. We need to see what's going on. I did some tests…she has an amazing source of power, some unexplainable things. You told us that the power chose us, what if this is a new source of power that we could use to stop Rita once and for all?"

"Aiyiyiyiyi!" Alpha cried. "Zordon!" He turned to the mythological being. "Should we test it out?"

"It may be something that can stop Rita and Zedd once and for all. We need to assess every possibility that we have." At Zordon's statement, Alpha, Billy, and Bailey set to work, setting up a reading of Avalon's energy levels, using the same mechanics that had been created to make the white ranger powers for Tommy. Once she was all set up, Billy turned on the machine and he and Alpha stood by a monitor, watching as the energy levels started to read out.

"So what does it mean?" Jason crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes moving over the waves. He exchanged glances with Kimberly, Zack, and Tommy. They didn't seem to understand what was going on either.

"Well?" Zack demanded when he didn't get a response. "Don't leave us in suspense."

"Ayiyiyiyiyi!" Alpha started to wave his arms around even faster. He even started to jump up and down, making similar movements he had when he first met the rangers and could not computer Kimberly's joking. "Zordon! I can't believe it!"

"What is it?" Bailey demanded.

"All of her powers, her new abilities…she holds the power of two rangers!" Alpha cried.

* * *

 

Avalon lay on her back on her bed, staring at the ceiling, as she had since she and Bailey had gotten back from the command center. She watched as the stegosaurus zord walked up and down her stomach, tiny technologic dinosaur sounds coming from it as it did so. She smiled a little, staring at the ceiling again. She had the power of two rangers? How was that possible? The light that she had seen when she was young…her father's work…did that have something to do with it? No one was sure, not even Alpha and Zordon could pinpoint where the power had come come…but Billy's thoughts had been right, there was a potential new power source that they could use to defeat Rita and Zedd.

Avalon rolled onto her side, thinking about the battle. Their spirits had been pretty low when they were all leaving and, once again, it was her fault. There must be something that she could do to make up for it. Avalon's gaze shifted over to her closet, the doors propped partially open. Avalon stared for a few moments before lifting her zord off of her stomach and placing it on her pillow. She walked over to the closet and opened the door. She stared at the dress in the back of her closet for a long time before picking up her cell phone and walking over to Bailey's room, dialing a number as she did so.

Avalon knocked on Bailey's door. "Yeah?" Bailey called. She looked up as Avalon entered the room, grabbing her attention. "What is it, Av?" She was sitting in front of a notebook, which Avalon recognized as Billy's, pouring over it. "Av?"

Avalon held up a finger and waited for the person on the other end of the phone to pick up. When they did, she told them to wait a minute before calling someone else in a three way. "Is everyone here?"

"I am," Kimberly said. She didn't sound as perky as she usually did. Probably still reeling from the fight, Avalon reasoned.

"I'm here, too," Trini added. "What's going on?"

"I was thinking…" Avalon said. "About the dance…" she turned to Bailey and looked directly at her. "How would you guys like to help me pick out a dress? We could make a day or night of it…"


	13. Homecoming (2)

**Chapter 13**

Homecoming

"Ok, what do you think about this one?"

Avalon pushed back the curtain to the family dressing room-which Kimberly made sure to commander as soon as they stepped into the store-and placed her hands on her hips, turning her dark eyes to the ceiling as she waited for the comments to come in. Bailey, who had been sitting on the edge of a chair, patiently watching as her sister went back and forth with each dress that Kimberly and Trini directed her to try on, rested her chin in her hands, and looked her sister up and down.

Finally, she leaned back, smiled impishly, and said, "You look beautiful, Av."

Avalon rolled her eyes, although she smiled a little. "You've said that with the past, what, twenty dresses I've tried on."

"But you look good," Bailey insisted. She nodded, her head resembling that of a bobble head, knocking her glasses off of her face. Bailey fumbled for them and jammed the frames back onto her face before turning to Kimberly and Trini. "What d'you think?"

"'Cause we all know that I'm dressing for you," Avalon said sarcastically. She even accompanied her sentence with an exaggerated curtsey; grabbing the ends of her dress and bending at the knee, being sure to keep her head up.

"I don't know," Trini said. She shook her head. "I don't think this one is the right fit." She brought her hand up to her chin, pretending that she was contemplating the creation of the universe. If she had a pair of glasses perched on her nose, threatening to slip off, it would complete the look. "Hmm." She turned towards Kimberly. "What do you think?"

"I think it's a sweet dress, but it doesn't say…Av," Kimberly said. She held her hands up in the air as if reading off the title of a newspaper clipping. Then pressing her fingers together so that they made the shape of a square, she lowered it until it hovered over Avalon, who had now crossed her arms over her chest and was looking at Kimberly with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't call me Av," she said then let out a weary sigh.

Turning her back to Kimberly, Trini, and Bailey, she did her best to stifle a yawn. She lifted her gaze to look at the mirror that was were taking up the wall space behind her. She glanced at her reflection, noticing that the makeup that blended in so perfectly with her chin was a little light towards her neck. She could see the bruise that she was trying to hide. The sight of the purplish mark seemed to increase her exhaustion and aches, she nearly had to reach her hands out to steady herself against the wall. Who would have thought that going out to defend their territory was going to end up in an all-out brawl.

Avalon touched the puffy skin, remembering the fist that smack her in the face when she wasn't expecting it.

Letting out a grunt as she hit the ground, Avalon looked up to see a High Flyer standing over her, shedding off his purple letterman jacket as he did so. There was a clicking sound and the only light that came from a streetlamp down the road, she could see that he had a switchblade in his hand. Avalon twisted to the side, rolling away from the High Flyer and leapt to her feet, driving her foot into the guy's chest. She swung her arm up and drove her first into the bottom of his chin before using her other foot and hitting him in the ribs. At that moment, he swung his other arm and smacked her on the other side of the face, causing Avalon to let out a shriek of pain.

Bringing a hand up to her face, she could feel a tiny scratch. When a whooshing sound came to her ears, she started to back away as the High Flyer continued to swing his switchblade towards her over and over again. Each time he leapt towards her, she took a step back. Avalon's eyes darted around her, taking in the High Flyers that were around her, fighting the members of her gang as well. Everything was in a tunnel vision for her, her edge darkened, she could feel a cold sweat running down her body, all of the sounds around her were amplified, crashing around her brain and bouncing off the walls.

The High Flyer brought his arm around her neck and pointed the switchblade towards her, effectively causing her to freeze. She wasn't stupid, she knew what could happen if she made the wrong move. Late night medical runs with Chase had seen to it that she thought rationally in moments like this. She started to choke, feeling the arm pushed tighter against her chest. Her vision started to darken even further.

 _Where's that extra power when you need it?_ She thought desperately.

"Hey guys, looks like we've got a prisoner here!" The guy called to his friends. Avalon bent over, trying to knock the guy off of him. She immediately froze, feeling another pinprick on her neck. Avalon's eyes widened and she held still, the warm bead of blood rolled down her neck, bobbing up and down when she swallowed thickly, before soaking into the collar of her shirt. "What do you think I should do with her?"

There was a sound of cheering before Avalon could her Chase's voice in a snarl. "Let her go, Trent! You're going to fucking regret it if you don't."

"I think that I'll fucking regret it if I _do_ ," Trent replied. He continued to gently pull the knife back and forth across Avalon's throat, using just enough pressure to let her know that it was still there. "Now, let's see what we can…" his voice trailed off and Avalon could feel his chin move over her shoulder before his left hand moved to her waist. "What's this?"

Avalon's eyes lowered to her morpher then closed again, realizing that he was going to try and steal it from her. "Hey, looks like we've got some loot!" He twisted the knife in his hand so that the blade was pointing directly to Avalon's throat.

If she moved forward too far…

Avalon felt Trent's hand land on her morpher. Avalon closed her eyes, gritting her teeth together so tightly that her jaw started to ache. With a cry of effort, Avalon reached up her hands, grabbed onto Trent's arm, and flipped him over her shoulder, throwing him to the ground as hard as she could. Trent's breath was knocked out in a loud whoosh as his back hit the ground. Avalon leaned over him and kicked him in the side then in the face before leaning over him punching him over and over. She lost herself then…her vision was completely dark at that point, she couldn't see anything, her body was moving on autopilot.

Only stopping when she felt hands on her arms pulling her back did Avalon finally come back to focus. The High Flyers were running down the street, Trent dangling over one of the shoulders of two of them. Looking down at her hands, she could see that her fingers were covered in blood. Chase had a tight grip on her shoulder and when Avalon swirled her head to look at him, she saw that he had a large smile on his face, however, as he said something to her, she couldn't hear anything that he was saying. Next thing she knew, she was waking up in her bed the next morning, shivering and shaking. Bailey had asked if she were sick, and even Avalon knew that her little sister knew what happened. It didn't help that it was all over the news, that there was a gang fight so large that a few people had been sent to the hospital.

Avalon, then, knew that things were getting to too crazy and that Chase was probably going to get into contact with her. So she turned off her phone, called up Kimberly and Trini, and the four girls had been at the mall all day, trying to figure out which dress Avalon should buy as well as eating whatever their cravings gave them.

"I think that she should try that sweetheart neckline one again," Kimberly suggested.

Avalon's eye twitched as she turned back to the pink ranger. "That was eight dresses ago!" She cried.

'Temper, temper," Trini said, wagging her finger. Avalon's face relaxed into a smile and she laughed a little. "It's just a dress Avalon, not a death sentence." She crossed her legs the other way and motioned for Avalon to spin in a full circle. Avalon did as she was told. "Yeah, I think the dress is pretty, but I don't think it's the best one to use." She brought a finger up to her chin. "I think that the sweetheart one will be good."

"Fine." Avalon turned to go back into the dressing room.

"Hey!" Kimberly indignantly placed her hands on her hips. Her brows furrowed and her pale pink lips moved into a pout, expressing her displeasure. "Why did you get mad at me about it and not mad at Trini?"

"Because Trini's not annoying," Avalon replied. She winked and stuck her tongue out at Kimberly before sliding into the dressing room once more. Kimberly, Trini, and Bailey burst out laughing at Avalon's antics.

"It's good to see her in such a good mood," Trini remarked as she leaned back in her seat.

Leaning over, she glanced at the bags that were sitting by hers and Kimberly's chairs, many of them were last minute accessories that she had found to go along with her dress for the dance. She smiled at Kimberly and then at Bailey. When they had met up at the mall early that morning, as was Trini's suggestion, wanting to beat the crowds of the other girls that were going to be getting ready for their homecoming dances, Avalon and Bailey greeted them at the entrance. Bailey was all smiles, waving when she spotted them. Avalon, on the other hand, lifted her chin in a nod. She looked exhausted, there were some bags under her eyes and she constantly yawned. But as the day went on, Trini was happily surprised to see that Avalon really came alive, talking enthusiastically with Kimberly and Trini about whatever conversation topic they got on. Trini didn't think that she would ever meet anyone that loved to shop as much as Kimberly did, but Avalon was the one that darted them from store to store, her eye caught by whatever was in the window. She even got to know a little bit more about the Mitchells, they were the only children in their family, had a couple of cousins that were younger than them, learned a bit more about their mother and father, and about life back in Australia.

However, Avalon's enthusiasm turned to a bit of irritation when they had found a few dresses and started to decide between them. While Avalon seemed like she liked to shop for dresses, she wasn't very fond of putting them on. But Kimberly always seemed to get her way and it worked with forcing Avalon into the dressing room to try on each and every dress that they had found, going back to ones they had discarded before.

Trini glanced back at the dressing room, her smile widening when she heard Avalon muttering to herself, catching the words 'stupid', 'Pinkerbell', 'Sunny', and 'dress' over and over again.

"She seems to have really loosened up with us now. I think that's the first time that I've actually seen her smile and laugh."

"Yeah," Bailey agreed, nodding earnestly. "Av's always been more of a serious person, so it's really cool to see her like this. So happy." All of a sudden, Bailey blushed, looking down at her lap, kicking her feet back and forth. "And…thanks for letting me come along with you guys. I'm having a lot of fun."

"No problem, Bailey," Kimberly reassured her. "It's, like, fun to have a little sister around." She leaned forward, lowering her voice so that the sales associate that was hovering around them, replacing dresses back on the clothing racks could heard. "And since you're one of us, it's better to have someone else that understands what we're going through."

"Cool." Bailey's smile widened. "Oh, and, thanks for the makeup tips." She quickly glanced at the dressing room. "As long as Avalon doesn't find out I have it…"

"Secret's safe with us," Trini said. She gave Bailey a wink and the two laughed quietly.

Kimberly turned back to the dressing room and clapped loudly. "C'mon Avalon, we don't have all day! You said that we were going to get some serious shopping done and you haven't shopped once! There are sales we have to hit."

"Knock it off, yobbo, I'm coming!" Avalon grabbed the curtain and flung it back with a quick flick of her wrist. "Ok. What about this one? And it's the last one that I'm going to try on, I already did you boofheads a favor by putting them on." She placed her hands on her hips and blinked when she noticed three pairs of eyes looking back at her. "What?"

"You look great!" Kimberly squealed, clasping her hands together.

"Joke's over." Avalon frowned.

"No, really," Trini insisted. She stood up and grabbed onto Avalon's arm, turning her around so that she could look at her reflection in the mirror. Trini squeezed Avalon's shoulders, causing the orange ranger to wince, and made sure she saw what she was seeing. "This dress is perfect, seriously." Avalon looked at her reflection, studying the dress. It had an orange sweetheart neckline and where the orange fabric reached her hips, it merged together with the black taffeta stopping a couple of inches above her knees. It flared out around her at the bottom, sticking tighter to her body towards the top.

"You look beautiful," Bailey added.

Avalon's lips twitched, as it was the twenty-first time that she had said it. However, this time, she could hear the complete sincerity in her little sister's voice. "Thanks." Avalon turned back to her friends. "Ok, now that we got this stupid dress out of the way, let's really go shopping. I need some new shoes and a little birdy told me that there's a half off sale at JCPenny."

Kimberly cheered, throwing her hands into the air. "Let's go!"

Avalon laughed, this time allowing herself to let out a real bout of laughter. Her eyes were even shining as she pushed her hair behind her ears. "Let me get changed and pay for this and we can go." Avalon changed out of the dress, put it on a hanger, and changed back to her street clothes before leading the way up to the register. "Just this, please, mate," she said.

"No problem," the cashier said and rung up the dress. "That'll be 75.93."

Avalon pulled her wallet out of her pocket and pulled out a couple of bills before handing them over to the cashier. She noticed the cashier's eyes widen for a second before she started to ring up the change. Out of the corner of her eye, Avalon could see Kimberly looking over the earrings on display. A surge of guilt rocketed through Avalon's body. Here she was, actually starting to…have fun with Kimberly and Trini and she was the one that had taken the pink ranger's favorite pearl necklace and her mother's gold necklace for a completely selfish reason. Because she could, because she wanted to, because she wanted to help her sister. If she knew that it was Kimberly's house she would have….

Well, Avalon wasn't exactly sure what she would have done, but she would have done _something_.

"Here's your change." The cashier's words broke Avalon out of her thoughts. Avalon reached out her hand and took the change, shoving it into her pocket. She then picked up her bag and with the best smile she could muster, she turned to Kimberly, Trini, and Bailey. "Now, who's ready to buy some shoes?"

Three hands shot into the air.

* * *

 

"Goal!" Zack cheered, throwing his hands into the air. "I win again!" Jason rolled his eyes as he grabbed onto the tiny soccer ball that landed in his goal and stuck it in the middle of the table. "Play again?"

"And watch that stupid dance that you do each time you score a goal?" Jason mimicked Zack's dance, though it looked more like he was flailing around. He abruptly stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't think so, dude." Shaking his head, he stepped away from the foosball table and went over to the pool table that Billy and Tommy were standing around, holding on to pool cues as they glanced at the felt covered table top. The four boys were at the Oliver residence, spending some time away from the girls, knowing that they were going to be doing nothing but spending the day at the mall that day. And there was nothing wrong with wanting to have some time with just the boys every once in a while. "I call next," he said, pulling himself up on a stool.

"Don't sit down, the game's going to be over soon," Tommy said, nodding over at Billy.

Zack joined the boys at the table. "You're actually winning?"

"No." Tommy shook his head. "Billy's gotten every ball that he's tried." He gestured to the table top where there was only one solid colored ball left besides the eight ball while there were numerous striped balls sitting around the table. Billy's lips curled into a smirk as he continued to watch the table. "And we've only been playing for a few minutes."

"It's just a matter of understand angles, trajectory patterns, and mathematics," Billy said. He pushed his glasses up his nose and then leaned over, aligning his pool cue against the side of the table. He allowed the pool cue to slip through his fingers a few times before shooting it forward. The clack that emanated from the pool cue hitting the ball broke the silence and the four boys watched as it bounced across the pool table and fell into the corner pocket. Jason and Zack laughed as Tommy turned away from the pool table and handed Jason the cue. "Sorry, Tommy, but I have to be good at something."

"Billy, you're good at a lot of things," Tommy said. He dropped down onto a lumpy, plaid couch, bringing up his legs. Warily, he rubbed his forehead. "I just wish that you were better at telling me not to bet any money on this game."

"I warned you," Billy said and then sank the eight ball, ending the game. He turned to Tommy, holding out a hand. "I believe you owe me…one hundred dollars."

'Whoa!" Zack's mouth dropped open. He turned to Tommy, his face relaxing into a smile. "Do you think that you can spare that much? Don't you have some other date to take Kim out on? It must be expensive."

Tommy gave him a stern look and Zack continued to laugh as he took the pool cue and stared to rub chalk on the end "Whatever, man, just don't ever underestimate Billy at these kind of things." He cracked his knuckles before swinging himself upright once more. "Anyway, what we really need to do is think of a game plan just in case Rita and Zedd come up with some sort of scheme while we're at the dance."

"Do you really think that they're going to try something?" Zack looked a little skeptical.

"They've done it before," Jason reminded him. "So many times before…they're always watching, we know that. We can't let our guard down even for a second." He frowned, thinking about what sort of mass destruction could go on while they were at the dance. _Everyone else will definitely have a night to remember._ The thought would have made Jason laugh if it wasn't funny. He cared about the earth, his family, his friends, and Angel Grove as much as the next guy, but with all of the attacks that Rita and Zedd had put out over the years, his classmates could barely do anything without worrying about a monster coming to attack them. He just wanted everyone to have a good night and if that meant that they had to give up theirs, then he would do whatever it took."

"So far they've sent down a monster, Arieselle, that gained power each time she managed to take a lap," Billy said. He racked up the balls on the pool table and, removing the plastic triangle that held them all together, he walked around the table to stand at the head. "Then she sent down twin monsters, Gemma and Nie, to catch us off guard." He stuck his pool cue forward and smacked the cue ball. It rocketed forward and knocked a few of the solid balls into pockets.

Zack frowned, shaking his head as Jason and Tommy smiled at each other.

"I think…they have plenty of other monsters of the same idea," Billy said slowly, as if figuring it out at the same time he spoke. He brought a hand up and started to rub his chin. His eyes slowly narrowed. "Representing each of the horoscopes."

"You mean that astrological thing?" Tommy's brows furrowed. "Kim talks about it a lot when it comes to compatibility. Like, Scorpio and Libra and stuff."

"Exactly," Jason agreed. "One the signs is Aries and another is Gemini." He nodded. "That must be it." He started to slide his communicator around his wrist, watching as the tiny buttons twirled around, winking at him each time the light from the overhead light caught it at the right angle. "So we know the idea behind the monsters, but how does that help us stop them?" He crossed his arms over his chest, sticking his hands into his armpits.

"It doesn't," Zack said.

"You don't have to be so pessimistic about it," Tommy pointed out.

"I'm not," Zack said. He let out a sigh as Billy managed to sink a few more solid colored balls. "I'm just saying that we know what the monsters are and the idea behind them. It doesn't help us defeat them it helps us know how many of them there are that we're going to have to face and I can assure you that they're going to get stronger with each one we managed to defeat." He frowned, his gaze burning a hole into the felt table. "Rita and Zedd wouldn't make things that easy for us."

"And with what happened with Avalon recently, we know that they're not going to stop at nothing to make sure they destroy us," Jason said.

"So we know that Gemma and Nie have the ability to imitate people, like they imitated their father," Billy said. "At least of whom I'm assuming is their father. Which represents the sign of the twin. Then with Arieselle, she has the ability to gain strength with each pass she takes, picking up speed, just like the ream." He ran a hand through his hair. "So it gives us an idea of what sort of powers the rest of the monsters have."

"Really?" Zack snorted. "Libra. The scales?" He lifted the pool stick as if it were a bench press and started to raise it and lower it over his head. "What's it going to do? Weigh us to death?" He burst out laughing, bringing the pool stick back down and watching as Billy managed to miss a shot. Zack moved to take his own turn.

"You can never be too sure," Jason said with a disapproving glance towards Zack's joking. "You never know what the two of them may have up their sleeves this time." His frown deepened, thinking back on everything that the rangers had deal with over the years and it didn't look like they were going to be finished with them anytime soon.

"Anyway, we better get going." Tommy broke the ominous silence that had filled the room. Even Zack and Billy had briefly paused in their game of pool, thinking about the seriousness of Jason's words and his tone. Tommy stood up and flashed a charming smile at the other rangers. "We have to pick up the girls soon and we don't want to be late."

* * *

 

"Those power brats must finally be on to us," Rita said, leaning on the balcony of the lunar palace. She turned to Zedd, who was standing by her side, gazing down at earth as well. He made a grumbling noise of contemplation, twirling his scepter in his hand. "They're actually thinking of what our next step is going to be."

"Don't worry about them," Zedd said. "They don't know what we really have planned." He turned away from the balcony and started to pace back and forth. "We just need to tire them out as long as we need to and we can finally conquer the world."

He noticed Goldar standing at the side of the two, watching and waiting for his instructions. Zedd slowly raised a hand to his chin. A million thoughts ran through his mind. How many more times could they be defeated and come up with a new plan to be defeated again? Now that they knew that Avalon was the key to taking over the world…now that they knew how strong she was, they could use that to their advantage. And what with the dance being that night, they would probably expect one of their new monsters to come down and fight them, not Goldar…

"Goldar!" Zedd spat.

"Yes, my liege?" Goldar walked over to Rita and Zedd. "What can I do for you?"

"Yeah, what do you need _him_ for?" Rita spat, coming up on Zedd's other side. She glanced at Goldar before fully turning to face her husband. "What are you thinking, Zeddy? We have some of the best monsters here, now, and you're going to send golden boy down there?"

"If you shut your mouth for one minute, then you may actually be able to have a helpful thought in your otherwise empty head," Zedd snapped. He took a calming breath. "The power rangers are probably waiting for us to use Arieselle, Gemma, Nie, or one of our other horoscope monsters. You heard what they said. We need to have the element of surprise."

"But they also know that we're going to attack them tonight," Rita added. "What's your master plan about the stupid dance?"

"Our failed plans of have had us attacking their times of fun at the otherwise worse times," Zedd said. He started to wave his Z-scepter around. "But this time, we're going to attack when we're sure that they're completely indisposed." He turned to Goldar. "Goldar! Go down there and wait for my orders! And when you get those orders, show no mercy!"

Goldar nodded. He heard the treacherous edge to Zedd's tone, it was completely unmistakable. He was ready to find a way to completely obliterate the power rangers once and for all and using a time where they were high on their guard as well as wanting a time to be carefree was a dangerous mix for them. This was the Zedd that Goldar knew, not the pathetic creature that lusted after his wife. There were many times he wondered why they kept him around when they weren't giving him anything to do rather than try to block his ears as well as he could. Now he had his chance to prove himself once more and he wasn't going to pass it up.

"Right away!" He reached a hand down to the sword that hung off of his hip and was beamed down to the Earth, cackling as he went.

* * *

 

"Ok, I got it!"

"Thanks." Avalon lowered her hair and stepped away from Bailey, who was standing on a chair behind her, fastening the choker around her neck. She leaned forward into the mirror and looked at her makeup, making sure that everything was perfect before turning around to face Bailey. "So what are you going to do while I'm at the dance?"

"I'm going to be working more with your zord with Alpha," Bailey said. At the mention of the fallen stegosaurus zord, the two sisters looked down at the floor where the stegosaurus zord in its mini form was walking around in a circle. Each time it passed Avalon, it lifted its head and gave a cry before starting to encircle the girls again. "Maybe we can figure something out with Rita's magic that might help you guys with everything else."

"Whoever said this was Rita's magic?" Avalon's brows furrowed so a dimple appeared by her chin. "I mean, we saw Gemma and Nie, yeah, but Rita's wand wasn't around. It was an attack that the two were using at once." She shrugged. "But who knows, what if my zord's destruction at the same time it was hit had something to do with it." She walked over to the couch and sat down, pulling on the silver heels that she and Kimberly had agreed worked perfectly with her dress. "What with me having the power of two rangers or whatever."

"That's what we're going to figure out, Av," Bailey said. She sat down next to her sister and studied her carefully. "Are you sure that you want to go?" She asked anxiously. Avalon stared at her sister when Bailey reached out a hand and grabbed Avalon's wrist. Her palm was clammy to the touch. "You've been going out with Chase and them so much…you're practically falling asleep standing up…aren't you in a lot of pain?"

"I'm fine, Bailey." Avalon brushed her off, standing up again.

"No, you're not, Av," Bailey insisted. "You're doing so much…I'm worried about you."

"Hey." Avalon turned and pressed a finger into Bailey's forehead. "It's my job to worry about you." She moved her hand and ran it through Bailey's hair before pressing her forehead against her sister's. "And I'm going to take care of you the best way I can. I made that promise when we got out here and I'm going to keep that promise, yeah?" She held out her pinky finger towards Bailey. Bailey hooked hers around Avalon's and the two shook their hands a few times.

"Yeah," Bailey said.

The two girls turned at the sound of the doorbell ringing and Bailey let out a squeal before leaping off of the couch and running towards the apartment door to answer it. Avalon chuckled, standing up and holding out a hand towards the stegosaurus zord. It climbed up and nestled into her palm and Avalon brought her hand up to her face. "She has to lay off the sugar."

"I heard that," Bailey said as she came back into the living room with Jason trailing behind her. Bailey smiled over her shoulder before backing up a few paces to watch the two interact with each other.

"Wow." Jason smiled warmly at Avalon. "You look great."

'So do you," Avalon replied, surprised that she really meant it. She looked him up and down before leaning towards him and sniffing the air in front of him. "Cologne?" She leaned back, tucking her loose, wavy hair behind her ears. "I guess you needed to be sure that you didn't perpetually smell like sweat, yeah?"

"I just like to think that I clean up well," Jason replied. He held out a plastic bod for her, nestled inside was a light pink flower. "Here's your corsage?"

"You get corsages for this too?" Avalon looked utterly confused. "Isn't it enough that you all have to dress up?"

"Yeah, well, Kim and Trini said that…" Jason broke off, suddenly looking at her with wide eyes. Avalon's eyes shifted and she glanced over at Bailey, who shrugged, looking just as confused. "You've never been to a dance before have you?"

Avalon bit her lower lip, struggling to figure out what to say. What would sound less pathetic? Not much in her case, and she had already kept so many secrets she wasn't particularly sure how much longer she could do it before everything all unraveled. It was hard to keep her own thoughts straight rather than things that were directly affected by her.

"No," she finally said. "I've never been to a dance."

Jason snapped his fingers. "And _that's_ why you've been so against it in general." Avalon shrugged. Jason opened the box to the corsage and handed it over to her. Avalon took it and slid it into her wrist. "Well, don't worry about it, things are going to be great, tonight. Kimberly and Trini did as much as they could to make sure that this goes off without a hitch. You'll have fun."

"Are you gonna promise?" Avalon scrutinized him.

"I don't make promises I can't keep," Jason explained, looking as serious as ever. There was still a playful light in his eyes, but his voice was solemn. Avalon understood completely. "And what with what's been going on lately, I don't really know if I can promise that we're all going to have fun."

"Hm." Avalon looked down at her corsage before glancing at her dress and shoes. She was going to do her best to have a good time for everyone, too. "Thanks, Jason." She gave a shy smile.

"You're welcome," Jason replied. He adjusted the lapels on his casual jacket. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep." Avalon turned and handed Bailey the stegosaurus zord before taking her purse off of the back of her chair. The three then headed towards the door. Avalon then remembered something. "Sorry you couldn't meet my parents," she said quickly. Bailey shot her a worried look but Avalon continued. "They had a late meeting."

"I'm sure I'll meet them some other time," Jason said. He, Bailey, and Avalon left the apartment building and walked over to Jason's car.

The girls climbed into their seats and Jason got into the driver's seat. He buckled up before turning on the car and pulling away from the curb, heading towards Kimberly's house, where they had all agreed to meet up to take a limo to the school. Avalon kept her eyes glued to the rearview mirror, waiting to see if a car she recognized followed them. With what happened with the High Flyers, she knew that they were waiting for the opportune moment to get revenge.

 _It seems like everyone has that idea lately_ , she thought. Jason pulled up behind Zack's car in front of the Hart mansion and the three got out of the car. Avalon slowly walked along, taking in the grand house in the daylight. Her eyes moved over to the window that she had wiggled into just before letting in the rest of her friends. Another surge of guilt caused her stomach to spasm. She placed a hand to her forehead.

"Are you ok?"

Avalon turned to see Trini standing beside her, a reassuring smile on her face. Avalon nodded back. "No worries. You look great, Trini."

"Thanks, so do you," Trini replied.

Avalon took in the way the other rangers were dressed. They all were talking and laughing with each other, taking in what each other were wearing. Avalon couldn't help but smile herself when Kimberly let out a loud shriek and crushed her and Trini in hugs when she got a good look at them completely dressed up. Then the girls and boys broke off into groups.

"Pictures! Pictures!" Mrs. Hart sang as she walked out of the house, waving a hand over her head. In her other hand was a camera. "I need to get some pictures before you all leave and have one of the best nights of your lives." She grabbed her daughter by the arm. "Kimmie, you and Tommy come stand over here!" And for the next twenty minutes Mrs. Hart took picture after picture of the rangers, putting them into different groups and pairs.

Avalon was surprised that she wasn't blind from the flash continuously going off before Mrs. Hart had gone back inside and the limo driver let them know it was time to get going. "Before we go though, I have something for you, Bailey," Billy said, stopping the younger girl in her tracks.

"For me?" Bailey pointed to herself. She blushed and twisted her fingers together when Billy nodded. "What is it?" Her face turned even redder when Billy knelt in front of her and grabbed onto her hand. She watched, her eyes widening as he slipped what looked like a watch onto her wrist. "A communicator?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"You've been a real help with me, Alpha, and Zordon at the command center and you're a great addition to the team," Tommy explained. "So we thought that it was time for you to get a communicator, too." He placed a hand on Kimberly's shoulder and the two smiled at each other.

"This is so cool," Bailey murmured. She took a step back, making sure to hold tightly onto the stegosaurus zord. "Well, have a good time, guys." She pressed the button on the side of the communicator and teleported away in a flash of white light.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Zack, who was going to meet Angela at the dance, threw his hands into the air. "Let's get this party started!"

* * *

 

"Zack, I can't dance anymore!" Avalon said, gasping for air. She let go of Zack's hand and backed up a few spaces, holding up her hands. "Besides!" She practically had to scream over the throbbing music to be heard. "Shouldn't you be dancing with Angela?"

"Angela's with her friends, she doesn't mind!" Zack motioned over to his date, who was standing by the punch bowl, talking to a bunch of their classmates. She held a cup of punch in her hand and didn't seem to look like she was going to start dancing anytime soon. Zack's grin widened as another fast paced song came out of the speakers. "Come on, one more!"

"You said that the last three songs," Avalon protested.

"It's not my fault that your date gets tired after a few songs in a row," Zack replied, but he allowed Avalon to leave him on the dance floor to find whomever else was willing to keep up with his steps.

Avalon wiped some sweat off of her forehead, turning to walk off the dance floor. She passed Kimberly and Tommy, who were having a great time with each other. Tommy was a little stiff, but that was to be expected as he was a naturally shy person. Avalon continued to look around the dance, Trini and Billy were dancing at the side of the floor…or was at least trying to. Billy seemed to be working on moves copied from TV, though Trini didn't mind, she continued to dance along with him. Jason was still sitting at the table Avalon had left him at two songs ago. He noticed her and lifted his eyebrows, silently asking if she was coming back and she nodded, holding up a finger before walking out into the hallway. As she walked out the door, she caught a glimpse of Kimberly heading his way, though he was shaking his head.

 _She's not going to take 'no' for an answer,_ Avalon thought with a light laugh. She suddenly broke off her laughter, her eyes widening a little. She was actually having a lot of fun, it was the most carefree she felt in a long time. Just being able to dance the night away and not worry about Bailey being safe, Chase and the others working on a hit, having to keep anything a secret. She could just dance, eat, talk…and finally be a _teenager_. Avalon slowly started to smile as she walked over to the water fountain, needing to get cooled down.

She bent over to start slurping up some water, but was stopped at the sound of her communicator going off. Avalon backed away from the water fountain and glanced around the empty hallways before bringing it up to her mouth. "What's going on, Zordon?"

"Goldar is near your school," Zordon said. "He seems to be up to something. You all need to get over there as soon as possible."

"Got it." Avalon dropped her arm and hurried back to the dance. She pushed the door open and stopped, watching as the other rangers were now all on the dance floor, looking like they were having the time of their lives. Avalon opened her mouth, to call to them, then stopped. _Do you really want to ruin their life? They're finally having a good time…don't ruin it._ Avalon backed away, taking off her heels as she went. She then turned and ran out of the school.

She could handle this herself.

Discarding her shoes, Avalon ran over to where Zordon had said that Goldar would be and found him, attacking random students as they ran away from him. "Run, little infants, run!" He cried, swinging his sword at them whenever he got in their reach. Avalon raced up to him. "Looks like I finally found one of the power pukes!"

"I was used to the other monsters, now they have a golden chicken?" Avalon murmured to herself.

Goldar snarled at her and leapt forward, slashing his sword towards her. Avalon leapt and rolled out of the way as quickly as she could. He continued to chase after her, slashing his sword as he went. Each time the sword connected with the ground or with a tree, the force of the blow would send chunks of dirt and wood flying. Goldar grabbed onto her and threw her to the ground. "I've got you now!" Goldar brought the sword down towards her head, but Avalon rolled to the left and lifted her right foot, kicking Goldar in the chest, causing him to stumble back a little bit.

 _Wow, he's strong._ Avalon grabbed her morpher from around her waist. "It's morphin' time! Stegosaurus!" Avalon summoned her power staff and jumped towards Goldar. "Hiya!"

Goldar brought up his sword and blocked her attack, the force sending her backwards. She landed on her feet but stumbled. Avalon tried to steady herself, her vision swimming in and out of focus. Goldar took the chance to slash at her legs with the sword, knocking her over. Reacting quickly, Avalon used her staff to lift herself off of the ground and move away from him. "Give up, orange ranger! You can't beat me!" Goldar advanced towards her, his dark eyes glowing brightly. His sharp teeth glistened in the moonlight.

"Wanna bet?" Avalon raced towards him once more. She and Goldar continued to trade blows towards each other, swinging their sword and staff respectively, clashing with each other as they went. Their intensity increased with each swing until both of them were grunting with the effort. Goldar brought his teeth together when he saw the opportunity he was looking for. The orange ranger had put up a better and longer fight than he had anticipated, but he knew how worn out she was. With going out with the other rangers and the activities with her gang, she was nearly asleep on her feel, exhaustion wearing her out the longer she fought with him.

Just as he wanted.

"Say goodbye, orange ranger!" Goldar blocked another one of Avalon's attacks and kicked her in the chest.

As her arms moved aside, leaving her vulnerable, Goldar brought his sword down onto her front. Avalon let out a cry of pain, stumbling back. Goldar struck her again and she fell to the ground. A malevolent laugh erupted from Goldar as he reached down and grabbed her around the neck, squeezing tightly. Avalon dropped her staff and brought her hands up to try and pry him off of her. He slowly brought his fingers closer together, watching with silent satisfaction as she struggled harder. Goldar looked right into the eyes of Avalon's helmet, the pressure of his squeeze bringing desperate choking sounds that was like music to his ears.

Goldar swung his sword down and caught Avalon in the chest. The force of the blow sent her flying and when she landed on the ground, she demorphed. Through a haze, Avalon looked up to see Goldar walking over to her, the sound of an evil, high pitched cackle reached her ears before she passed out…


	14. I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends (3)

**Chapter 14**

_I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends_

* * *

 

Avalon slowly stirred awake. She kept her eyes closed, raising her hand to her forehead, it was pounding with pain. In fact, each movement sent an explosion of soreness throughout her body, allowing a wave of nausea to seize her stomach. Even the slightest movement to lift her head had her curling up into the fetal position.

"Aww, poor little Avalon, is all washed up!"

Avalon opened her eyes. There was nothing but darkness around her, the musty smell that infiltrated her nose caused her to slowly get to her feet. Raising her hands to her head, her dark eyes darted around…nothing. Everywhere she looked, there was nothing. Lifting a hand to her face, she realized that she could at least see that. Wiggling them, she took stock in her body parts, everything seemed to be there. Her dress was a little worse for the wear. However she was fine.

Her eyes swept around the darkness once more.

Relatively.

"You must be exhausted," Rita said as she and Zedd stepped out of the smoke and shadows. They stopped a few feet in front of her, both holding onto their wand and scepter—respectively—as they gazed at her. The evil smile on Rita's face exhibited her glee. She was practically bouncing up and down, twirling her wand in her hands. The two started to encircle Avalon. "What with you little extracurricular activities when you're not with the rangers."

Avalon's hands clenched into fists. Her jaw started to ache and she realized that she had her teeth clamped so firmly together that you couldn't even wedge a piece of gum through them. She spun in slow circles, watching Rita and Zedd. "What do you want, boofheads?"

"The real question is…" Rita and Zedd stopped and stood next to each other once more. "What do _you_ really want?"

Avalon's eyebrow raised.

* * *

 

"Trini, my feet are really starting to hurt," Billy said, wiping sweat off of his forehead. He leaned over, his shoulders slumping, watching as Trini continued to move in front of him. Trini beamed at him, holding her arms above her head, twirling in a circle. Her hair hit him in the face and his smile widened a bit more. "I seriously don't know how you girls do it. Realistically speaking, after the muscles in the body-"

"Billy, please no science talk tonight," Trini said. She reached out and grabbed onto his hands. "But if you really want to rest, then go sit with everyone else." She inclined her head towards the tables that had been pushed to the sides of the gym for the students to sit down, rest, and eat. Kimberly, Tommy, Zack, and Jason were all sitting together. Billy smiled and nodded at her before the two walked over to the empty chairs at the table to sit down. He let out a sigh of relief once he was finally off his feet.

"You two looked like you were having fun," Kimberly remarked, lacing her fingers together as she smiled sweetly at them.

Billy blushed a little, fumbling with his glasses. Thankfully, Trini spoke up before he could. "Yeah, I think Billy's really come a long way with this dancing," she said. "It just goes to show you what practice can really do."

"Or not letting him leave the dance floor," Zack pointed out with a wink and shrug. "There's that, too." Trini and Billy laughed along with the others. He sat up straight, looking around. "Has anyone seen Avalon?"

"I haven't seen her for the past one thousand two hundred seconds," Billy said. His eyes orbited towards the ceiling when Kimberly, Jason, Zack, and Tommy all gave him blank looks. Trini giggled before coming to Billy's aid.

"He' means the last twenty minutes," she explained.

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen her either," Zack said. He rubbed the back of his head as he sat up, looking around the gym. There were dancing teenagers all over the place, but he couldn't find the orange ranger. Turning to Jason, he smiled a little. "You've been quiet," he remarked. "Did she ditch you?"

Jason had his arms crossed over his chest, and a frown on his face. If it wasn't that he knew them so well, Billy would have really thought that he was annoyed that he had been ditched. No, this was the look that Jason gave every time there was news about Rita, Zedd, or one of their monsters attacking Angel Grove. The look of calm, stoic worry and determination. Jason looked around before leaning forward and confirming Billy's thoughts.

 _Something is really wrong here,_ Billy thought as he leaned forward as well. _We may have let our guard down._

"I think we need to check things out," Jason said, loud enough for everyone to hear over the music. "There's no way that Rita and Zedd could let us have a night off." He shook his head. "Not on a day like this. It never happens."

"But the communicators haven't been letting us know," Kimberly said, motioning to the artifact on her wrist.

"How could you hear it?" Jason pointed out. His frown deepened. "And Zordon couldn't teleport us out of here when there are so many people around. Not when they could all see our biggest secret." He lifted his wrist. "I've wanted to go somewhere quiet to see what's going on…but there are people everywhere." There was a sudden tension that went around the table as the realization settled in. The rangers had been waiting for an outright attack on them while they were at the dance, they didn't expect them to use everything around them _against_ them. Rita and Zedd had never smart enough to do it before, but now…

 _They know about her powers,_ Billy suddenly thought, his eyes growing wide. _They know that she has the power of two rangers. They're probably going to try and turn her to their side._ Who knew what could happen if they got their hands on that sort of power. They weren't sure what sort of limits her powers had or what could happen if it fell into the wrong hands.

"That was their plan!" Tommy cried, snapping his fingers. "Waiting for us to be in a place where we'd, essentially, be completely stuck."

"It's brilliant if you really think about it," Billy said helpfully. "Cutting off all of our resources and making sure we're completely isolated." All eyes turned to him and he shrugged. "I'm just saying, it really is smart. If we could utilize the same tactic-"

"That's it!" Tommy cried. He brought his communicator up to his ear and, listening hard, he could hear the sound of the communicator letting off the rhythmic sound of danger it always did. Billy and the others watched as Tommy tapped his finger against his chin, his eyes darting back and forth. "We're going to use Rita's and Zedd's tactic against them.

"But first we have to figure out what's going on," Trini reminded them. Billy glanced at her, seeing the look of worry and apprehension slide over her face. She and the other rangers looked around as screaming classmates started to run into the gym. In the resulting chaos, the music was shut off and the gym started to clear out.

"Looks like it shouldn't be too difficult now," Zack remarked. The rangers stood up and blended in with the crowd before darting off to the side to answer Zordon's call. Tommy brought his communicator to his mouth, "what's going on, Zordon?"

"Rangers, Avalon's been kidnapped by Rita, Zedd, and Goldar. However, Arieselle is attacking the school. We can only think that she is being used as a distraction for you guys so they can do something equally as dangerous as when they had Tommy under Rita's spell as well as throwing Jason into the dark dimension.

"What are we going to do?" Kimberly crossed her arms over her chest. If it was out of fear of the cold, Billy wasn't sure, but she started to shake, her lower jaw trembling. "If she was put into the dark dimension, we have no ways of getting to her and Arieselle is too strong for us."

"We're currently working on a way for you to get to the dark dimension and to save Avalon, but for the moment, you have to take care of Arieselle," Zordon replied.

Tommy lowered his communicator. "Looks like we don't have choice guys, we can only hope that Avalon can take care of herself while Bailey, Alpha, and Zordon find a way to get to the dark dimension or to get her out." He waved a hand and the rangers moved off to the side, away from the screaming teenagers. "You guys ready?"

"Ready!"

"It's morphin' time!"

"Tiger Zord!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

* * *

 

"What do you freaks want?" Avalon backed away from Rita and Zedd, bringing her hands up to her face.

"Like I said, it's more of what _you_ want," Zedd said. He lifted his Z-scepter and pointed it at her. "We're aware of the things that you've been doing," he drawled. Avalon scowled. "Things that the other rangers wouldn't be so very fond of if they found out." Avalon slowly started to lower her hands, a look of panic flashing across her face. Zedd exchanged a glance with Rita. They had her now. "Trying to keep you and your sister safe and sound…in a nice home."

"Cut the crap and get to the point!" Avalon snapped. In the next second, a scream of pain was ripped from her throat as Zedd powered up his scepter and blasted her with the evil energy from it. He merely watched as she felt to her knees, gasping for air, her hair hanging over her face.

"I don't think you want to upset me," he growled, taking a step closer to her.

"We've found that you will do anything to help you and your sister," Rita took over. As she spoke, she started to wave her want, allowing a green mist to come out and encircle Avalon once more. "And the things that you've done…they don't seem to be what a ranger makes. But it is what an evil range makes." She waved her wand a mountain of goods appeared in front of Avalon, complete with jewelry, TV sets, and electronics. "Join us and we'll be sure that you won't have to worry about anything ever again. You don't have to continuously exhaust yourself at all hours just to get money that you don't seem to have."

Avalon sat back on her heels, her teeth gritted together. She lifted her head, listening to what Rita said. _I wouldn't have to steal anymore? I could spend more time with Bailey? I don't have to worry…about anything…_ That wasn't true. There was still the matter of being in the gang…they were her friends; she couldn't turn her back on them. Then there was the truth about what was going on with their parents…and why they were alone in Angel Grove…would that be a problem too?

At Avalon's hesitation, Rita and Zedd gritted their teeth and turned their wand and scepter towards them, they both started to glow, illuminating the darkness around them. But the darkness still stayed dark. The green mist continued to encircle Avalon, as if waiting for orders to take her over. "If you don't join us, we'll reveal your secret to the other rangers and we'll _destroy_ you, your sister, and everything you love!"

Avalon swallowed thickly. Another scream erupted from her throat. This time, of rage. Leaping to her feet, she raced towards Zedd and threw her fist at him. He lifted his scepter to shield himself, and her fist connected with it. There was a bright flash of light and the forced sent the two flying back from each other. Avalon fell back to her knee, bringing a hand up to her chest, she gasped for air. She could feel the new power…feel how it was coursing through her veins, strengthening her…however…each hit seemed to take her energy away from her as quickly as she used it.

Rita and Zedd seemed to understand this, as they laughed evilly at each other. Zedd waved his scepter and an image appeared in the air in front of them. As Avalon watched, the other rangers fought against Arieselle, doing their best, but getting beaten quite easily. This monster was definitely one of the better ones the two had created.

"We'll watch the other rangers die as you make your decision."

* * *

 

"Ay yi yi yi yi! What are we going to do?!" Alpha cried, watching as the rangers fought Arieselle. He raised his hands and covered where his eyes would be as Zack was hit in the chest, getting knocked over in the process. As Arieselle came back to attack him again, Jason jumped in the way and fended him off with his power sword. Arieselle seemed to slow down, but used the energy from her horns to blast the rangers back onto the ground.

"We can only hope that we find a way to get the rangers to the Dark Dimension," Zordon said.

Bailey, who had been standing by a control panel, chewing her fingernail, frowned at Zordon's words. It didn't make sense; they should be able to teleport into the Dark Dimension. That's what Jason had said, anyway. Back when they had first encountered Arieselle, in the park. They had explained everything they could about what they had gone through over the past couple of years. When they had gotten to the par about the Dark Dimension and how Jason, Tommy, and Billy had all been there, Jason's words had stuck in her mind.

"The Dark Dimension makes it so that your communicator is powerless, however, you can still use your power morpher and teleportation."

"So couldn't you all have teleported out of the Dark Dimension?" Bailey had asked. It seemed like the most logical answer at the time. If you could teleport in, you should be able to teleport out. Nothing was ever that logical or that easy as she found out a few seconds later.

"Being able to teleport in was what Rita and Zedd used as a trap, many times," Trini said. She paused for a moment, thinking. "Being able to teleport out…it had to have been when our power has been at its strongest, or when Zordon and Alpha were able to teleport us out."

Bailey had nodded, storing the information in her head for later, just in case. Who would have thought that she was going to have to use it to rescue her sister? Bailey turned on her heel and started to pace the floor of the Command Center, her footsteps falling quicker as she went. How could this happen? The person that was trying so hard to give her a good life, the only person she could count on was now captured? Well now it was Bailey's turn to help her. She clenched her hands into fists, they shook at her sides. _No one messes with my sister and gets away with it!_

"I have an idea," she said, turning to Alpha and Zordon. "Of getting rid of Arieselle as well as getting Avalon out of the Dark Dimension." She pushed her glasses up her nose and turned to Alpha. "You know what we've been working on after getting a reading on Avalon's levels?" She turned and started to walk to a side of wall of the Command Center. At the last moment when it looked like she was going to walk into a wall, a security door opened to another room. She walked inside and pulled on a pair of gloves.

Alpha followed behind her. "Do you think that they're ready for this? We don't know if the clout is something they can handle. We haven't tested the equilibration of it along with the power grid or the power coins."

"We may not have a choice, Alpha," Bailey said. After pulling on her gloves, she reached over and picked up a pair of tongs. Reaching over with her left hand, she opened a panel on the wall and lifted a cover before pressing a series of buttons. The floor opened and a pillar rose out from the ground, holding onto a white cube. Moving forward, Bailey placed the tongs around the cube and turned around, holding it out at arm's length away from her.

"But the-"

"I'm not going to sit back and allow my sister to get turned to evil by Rita and Zedd!" Bailey said firmly. There was so much bite to her tone that Alpha stopped in his tracks, gazing at her. "She's taken care of me so long…she's forfeited so much of her time and energy for me…" She shook her head. "I'm not going to stand aside and let anything happen to her."

Alpha and Bailey walked out of the secret room and back to the main area of the command center. A lectern appeared and she placed the cube on top before attaching wires to it. She then went over to a control panel and started to push a series of buttons. "Zordon, do you have a lock on Avalon in the Dark Dimension?" She kept her head down as she continued to work.

"Indeed," Zordon explained. "I have her coordinates exactly, however, if you send the other rangers there, I can't guarantee that they're going to be able to be brought back."

 _That's what you think,_ Bailey slowly started to smirk. After pressing a few more buttons on the control panel she turned back to the cube, watching as it glowed white, red, orange, yellow, blue, purple, and pink. _Bingo!_ Bailey restrained herself, knowing that the present time wasn't good to celebrate her genius. But that didn't help the smirk that slid onto her face. "Now we need to get the rangers here and let them know what's going on," she turned back to the viewing globe, wincing as Kimberly was struck again. "I don't think that they can beat her like this."

"Alpha, teleport the rangers to the command center," Zordon instructed.

"Right away, Zordon," Alpha said. He turned to a control panel and started pressing a few buttons. Bailey watched as the colors of the rangers appeared in the command center. They took off their helmets and turned to Zordon.

"Alpha, Arieselle's too strong for us," Zack said, gasping for air. He glanced around at the other rangers, who looked worse for the wear. There was nothing but worry and disappointment on their faces. "What are we going to do?"

"Avalon's gone as well," Trini agreed. "We don't know where she went."

"Rita, Zedd, and Goldar kidnapped her and took her to the Dark Dimension," Bailey explained. "Just like you've figured out, they were using your dance as a ways to separate you guys and so you couldn't respond to her calls for help." She reached over and pushed an orange button on a computer and held out her hands, Avalon's power morpher appeared, nestled inside. Her power coin repeatedly glowed orange.

"Her morpher?" Kimberly gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth.

"She'd have no way to defend herself while in the Dark Dimension," Jason added.

"What were you thinking?" Billy asked Bailey, who looked back at him patiently. She nodded over to the cube and his eyes widened. Turning back to her, he stared at her for a few moments, his eyes narrowing. "Are you sure that it's going to synthesize well with the power and morpher grid? It may rescind our powers for all we know."

"Does anyone understand anything about this?" Zack waved an arm towards Billy and Bailey. "I mean, I knew that they were smart, but this is getting ridiculous."

"They're saying that this cube may be what can help Avalon get out of the Dark Dimension," Trini explained. Her mouth was pressed into a thin line. "What it is, I'm not sure. But it might not work well with our powers and the power and morpher grid. If anything, it can help us, but it may damage our ability to morph in general."

"We have to try something," Tommy said with conviction. He looked around at the other rangers. "We can't let Rita and Zedd destroy her."

"Tommy's right," Bailey said. "They know about Avalon's power of two rangers, that's where this came from." She started to walk around the cube. "This is part of Avalon's power that we managed to harness that Alpha and I believe can help you in your quest to destroy Rita as well as to defeat Arieselle."

"We had an idea," Tommy added. "Do to them what they did to us, split them up and gang up on one. Just like Gemma and Nie did and just like Goldar did with Avalon."

"Take a look at the viewing globe," Zordon said. The rangers all turned to see Avalon, from earlier that night, taking the call from Zordon. As they watched, she went towards the gym to get the other rangers, but then backed away, running outside.

"She was trying to keep us from fighting Goldar?" Zack turned back to Zordon. "But why?"

"She wanted to keep you guys from having your night ruined," Bailey explained, pushing her hair behind her ears. "You've done nothing but fight monsters for as long as you all can remember and she figured that she could handle it herself while you guys had fun." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Guys," Kimberly said. "We need to go save Avalon, she's not just one of us, she's our friend." Kimberly looked down at her helmet. "She wanted to make sure that we had a good night…we can't abandon her now." With new determination, she held her helmet at arm's length. "We're going to defeat Arieselle and get our friend back."

"Back to action!" Jason declared and the rangers put their helmets back on. Bailey used the tongs once more and picked up the cube, she moved to stand beside the rangers. "Can you get us to the Dark Dimension?"

"I can do that and more," Bailey replied. "First, with Arieselle. Think of this…if Rita and Zedd made monsters out of horoscopes, what do you think is the one thing that can defeat them?"

"One of their own…" Jason said.

Bailey smirked, dimples appearing in her cheeks.

"Alright, let's get to the Dark Dimension and get Avalon!" Zack declared.

"Right!"

The rangers teleported out of the Command Center. Alpha twisted to address Zordon, and then stopped when something caught his eye. On the pedestal that the cube had recently been sitting, something was glimmering at him. Walking over, Alpha picked up the object and examined it in his hand.

"Could it be…"

In his palm rested a power coin.

* * *

 

 _What do I do now?_ Avalon could feel herself on her last legs of energy. At this point, she was barely standing, swaying on her feet. Rita and Zedd continued to zap her whenever she would attack them. If she had her morpher, she would be able to defend herself easily. Not even the extra power she had was helping her much, they were that strong.

"Puny weakling," Zedd snarled. "If you joined our side, you would know how to use your powers to be the strongest being in the world." He pressed his Z-scepter to her neck, forcing her head up to look at him. Avalon glared at him through the fringe that fell in her eyes.

"Not so fast, Zedd!"

Avalon turned to see Tommy, Jason, Kimberly, Trini, Billy, Zack, and Bailey had teleported into the dark dimension and was standing behind her. She moved to get to their side, but Rita grabbed her by the arm and pressed her wand to her throat. The green mist started to curve around her body. Her eyes slowly started to turn green. "It's too late, rangers, she's already growing under our spell, and soon she's going to be utterly under our spell." She tilted her head back and laughed evilly.

"I don't think so!" Jason declared.

"Saba!" Tommy pulled his sword out from its sheath, spun him around his fingers and threw him. Saba swirled towards Rita, but she lifted her wand and batted it away.

"What was that supposed to do?" Rita laughed. "You and your puny toys. They're not going to defeat us this time." She turned to Zedd. "FINISH THEM NOW!" The emotion in her voice expressed glee at the thought of mercilessly killing the rangers once and for all. Her eyes flashed with fortitude and her face started to twitch at the corner, her eyes darting back and forth as she watched the rangers start to fight Zedd.

The Power Rangers charged forward and started to attack Zedd, summoning their power weapons as they did so. Zedd viciously fought back, electrocuting them whenever he had the chance as well as slammed his scepter into their stomach. At one point, he reached out and slammed his fist so hard into Zack's stomach that he lay prone on the ground for a few moments. Kimberly and Trini leapt forward to attack him at the same time.

"Hiya!" The twin girls, smashing Zedd with their power bow and power daggers. He let out an enraged yell and brought his scepter up the second time they started to attack. The second their weapons clashed, a shockwave was created, sending the rangers back along the ground.

"Say goodbye, rangers!" Zedd started to charge up his scepter.

"Now, Bailey!" Billy called.

"I'm on it!" Bailey called back. Rita and Zedd turned to see Bailey, who had been crouching in the corner get up and run over towards her sister. When she reached her, she shoved the cube into Avalon's hands. The cube glowed a bright orange so that it filled the room and when it diminished, Avalon was a few feet away from Rita, smiling over at her sister. Bailey smiled back, her eyes lighting up.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Zedd roared, turning to his wife.

"I don't know, Zeddy!" Rita looked at her wand. "She was under my spell."

"That's what you think." Bailey smiled and pointed above their heads. Rita and Zedd looked up to see Saba hovering over them, a red beam going from his eyes to Avalon. It was putting her under a protective shield, keeping Rita's magic from taking the orange ranger over. After a few seconds, Saba released his hold on Avalon and flew back over to Tommy.

Thrusting a hand in the air, Tommy caught is friend. "Nice going, Saba," Tommy said to him.

"Thank You," Saba replied before Tommy placed him back in his sheath.

"I'm going to destroy you, too!" Rita lifted her wand and pointed it over to the Mitchell sisters.

Billy jumped in the way. "Power Lance!" He brought up his weapon and slashed Rita in the face. She screamed in pain, falling back behind Zedd. He then jabbed forward as Zedd moved towards him, the two back away again. Zedd lifted his scepter starting to charge it. Billy turned his head towards the girls. "You ok, Av?"

"As good as can be expected, yeah?" Avalon replied with a nod back. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but stopped and nodded again.

"Let's bring it together!" Jason declared.

"Power Axe!" Zack tossed his weapon into the air, making the bulk of the combined weapon.

"Power Bow!" Kimberly threw hers to add onto Zack's weapon, giving the blaster wings.

"Power Daggers!" Trini spun her weapons around her fingers before throwing it up to add onto the weapon.

"Power Lance!" Billy pulled his lance apart and threw it up onto the weapon as well.

"Power Sword!" Jason jumped up high into the air and brought his sword down on top of the weapon, making the power blaster complete. "Let's do it guys." He held onto the power blaster and Kimberly, Trini, Zack, and Billy all crowded around him to help him hold onto the weapon. "Ready?"

"Fire!" the five of them cried in unison and the blaster show out its energy right to Rita and Zedd.

Rita and Zedd brought their wand and scepter together and fended off the blow. Zedd started to glow a very bright red, his chest heaving up and down. His scepter started to glow red as well. "You think that you can _defeat me_?!"

"That was just a distraction," Bailey said. She brought her communicator up to her wrist. "Zordon!" The rangers teleported in a flash of light.

Zedd tightened his grip on his scepter. "NO!" He howled at the sky.

Rita looked at her husband before glaring at the spot the rangers once were. _Those rangers have no idea what was coming to them…they're going to regret the day they decided to cross us._ Rita growled.

* * *

 

"Now we just have to get rid of Arieselle!" Jason said once the rangers teleported back to the school.

Tommy turned to Bailey. As he looked at her, he saw just how worthy she was. She didn't cower in the face of danger; she went into it head on with a plan to save her sister and to help their friends. She was a formidable ally to their team. "Thanks for the help; you should get back to the command center where it's safe!"

"Got it." Bailey took the cube back from Avalon and teleported to the command center.

"Let's sheer this sheep," Kimberly said as Arieselle stopped her charge and stood a few feet away from the rangers. She glanced around at her friends then looked up at Tommy. He caught her eye and gave her a reassuring nod. Though they couldn't see each other's faces through their helmets, she could see the smile that accompanied his nod. Kimberly smiled back at him.

"So you've come back for more, huh?" Arieselle taunted. "I thought you learned your lesson the first time."

"We're not going to let you get away with this, Arieselle!" Trini declared.

Avalon looked at the rangers and took a step forward. She glared at the monster, her hands shaking. "I just wanted them to have a good night, free from having to worry about this sort of thing because…" Avalon trailed off, slowly. She stood up straight, her eyes widening slightly as realization hit her. Everything became crystal clear; things seemed to be…more inviting now. The air was sweeter, the colors around her were brighter, and there was an unmistakable feeling of camaraderie in the air. She turned to look at the other rangers behind her. "Because these guys are my friends…" She turned back to Arieselle, her eyes narrowing. "And I'm _not_ going to let you hurt them!"

"I think you're going to need this," Jason said, handing over her morpher.

Avalon grinned as she took it. She swung her arms behind her back. "It's morphin' time!" With determination, she thrust her morpher into the air. "Stegosaurus!"

"Power Rangers!" The group cried once Avalon morphed.

"Not so fast!" Once again, Arieselle started to charge at the rangers, knocking them back every time they got in her way. "You don't have the power to defeat me!" Arieselle slammed into the rangers once more, sending them to the ground.

"We should put Bailey's plan into motion," Tommy said, struggling to his feet. "It may work." He turned to Avalon. "Let's see what you can do." She turned to him, as if not knowing what he was talking about. That kept her open to another attack from Arieselle.

"Av! Look out!" Billy called.

Avalon turned back to Arieselle. Her eyes widened and she held out her hands to try and defend herself. They started to glow orange, there was a black tint at the edge of the glow, and when she grabbed onto Arieselle's horns, she wasn't pushed back, the ram stopped on a dime. Arieselle's eyes narrowed and she clomped a hoof against the ground before starting to run again. However, she still didn't go anywhere. Avalon gritted her teeth at the effort and focused her energy on holding Arieselle still. Arieselle's horns started to glow.

"Avalon, get away from there!" Zack called.

"It's not safe!" Jason added.

"Fuck that," Avalon spat. "This thing is going down!" As she concentrated, the orange/black glow around her hands slowly changed into fire that shot forward and engulfed Arieselle. She screeched in pain and, still on fire, Avalon lifted Arieselle above her head and threw her away from them. "Whoa." Avalon looked down at her hands as the glow stopped and the flames disappeared.

"Don't congratulate yourselves yet," Bailey's voice came through their helmets. "She's still going."

The rangers watched as Rita's and Zedd's combined power grew Arieselle so she towered above them. "We need megazord power now!" Jason called. The rangers watched as their zords came racing towards their masters. Jason, Trini, Zack, Kimberly, and Tommy all entered their zords as soon as they arrived, but Avalon heisted.

This was going to be the first time that she was piloting a zord that wasn't her won. What if she made a mistake like last time? What if she overpowered the zord and the same thing happened with Billy's? Who knew what would happen if everyone's zords got turned into and technological pets. Avalon looked at her hands. They weren't glowing now…

Billy placed a hand on her shoulder. "Your body language suggests that you're hesitant," he said and squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry. We're all here to back you up. We're all on this team together. No matter what…you're not alone. And we can take down this monster and all of the other ones that are thrown our way."

Avalon smirked. "Try and stop me!"

The two leapt high into the air and entered the cockpit of the Triceratops zord. It had been fitted with two seats now, instead of the one that Billy usually commandeered himself. Avalon sat down in the seat behind Billy and grabbed onto the control sticks that were sitting on the left and ride side of her chair. In front of her, Billy did the same.

"Zack here, I'm ready to rock."

"This is Billy, locked and loaded."

"Trini here, ready to rumble."

"Yeah, this monster is toast!"

"Tommy here, all system's go."

"This is Avalon, let's do this!" Avalon concluded.

"Alright, let's do this together. As a team. Megazord power, on!" Jason cried. The zords pulled themselves together to create the Megazord. It faced off against Arieselle as the Tiger Zord stood by its side. Both zords circled Arieselle and tried to attack her, but the burning monster made things that much more difficult. "The heat is too intense for us," Jason said as the Megazord had to back up from the monster.

"Our shields are starting to melt," Trini added.

"Seems like a good time to try out your plan, Bailey," Tommy said.

"Right," Bailey agreed.

"Sending the cube down," Alpha added.

A panel opened in from of Billy and the white cube which was now glowing white, red, yellow, blue, purple, and pink appeared in front of him. He studied it for a moment, his mouth pressed in a thin line. He knew what was going to happen, but the risks…there were too many of them. How were they even sure that it was going to work.

"Billy, take the cube," Alpha instructed. "It's the only thing we have to potentially defeat Arieselle."

"Affirmative!" Billy finally made ups his mind. He reached out and grabbed onto the cube, cupping it between his hands. He and the Triceratops zord glowed a bright blue. Avalon closed her eyes, turning her head away as the light got brighter. She held tightly onto the controls, feeling the strength of it starting to break out of her hands.

"You fools! You left yourselves wide open!" Arieselle shot out a beam of energy at the same time that she charged into the MegaZord's chest. Her attack was so strong that the zord fell apart, though each individual zord was able to get to its feet.

"I'm gonna need a little help here!" Avalon called as she used the controls to move the Triceratops zord out of the way of Arieselle's charge.

"We're doing our best," Zack replied, controlling the Mastodon zord to use its tusks and horns to slam into Arieselle. Kimberly, in the pterodactyl zord swooped from above and shot rockets into Arieselle's face. "Hold your horses."

Despite the situation, she could hear laughter coming from Tommy, Trini, and Kimberly. The glow finally lowered and Billy placed it back on the panel where it closed and sank back into the zord. He reached out and grabbed onto the control sticks that were by his hands. "Let's see if this works," he muttered. "Everyone, block of Arieselle, Avalon and I can handle the rest."

"Got it," Trini said. "Initiating block."

He and Avalon directed the triceratops in front of Arieselle. As Billy's grip tightened on the control sticks, his hands started to glow blue. "Triceratops!" The two called in unison. "Triceraqua strike!" The horns on the zord started to glow a bright blue as the zord started to increase in speed until it was sprinting at Arieselle. The two lifted their right hands off of the controls. "Now!" They slammed their palms on a button on the right and the glow blue shot off of the horns and towards Arieselle in a rush of hard water. She screamed as it hit her head on. The water then turned to a blow of energy and it caught her.

Her screams faded as the energy incinerated her. When the smoke cleared, Arieselle was gone.

"Alright!" Billy cheered.

"Nice one!" Kimberly added.

"Good one, guys, let's get to the Command Center," Jason said.

* * *

 

"Congratulations rangers," Zordon said, beaming down at the seven teenagers in front of him.

They had all teleported back to the Command Center and demoprhed, now standing back in their homecoming clothes. Despite the wear and tear on their bodies, they were all grinning at each other. Even Bailey, who was standing off at the side with Alpha, had regained her usual personality and was bouncing up and down on her toes, exuding her insatiable excitement.

"You've managed to save Avalon as well as defeat one of Rita's and Zedd's strongest monsters. But don't think the fight is over yet, there are more monsters where that came from."

"They can handle it!" Bailey declared. Avalon smiled and wrapped her arms around her sister's neck, giving her a hug. Bailey smiled and closed her eyes, reaching up her hands to hug her sister back. Now she proved that she could take care of herself when the time came. Now they could work together and help each other to live a good life. There were going to be a few bumps in the road, but things seemed clear for them in that moment.

"What about this new power that we're able to use?" Tommy asked. "What does it mean for Rita and Zedd?"

"We can deal with that later," Zordon said with a chuckle. "Right now, you deserve to take a break."

"So we're your friends?" Zack teasing question grabbed everyone's attention. Avalon lowered her arms from Bailey's shoulders and gave him a confused look. "I heard what you said. You said that we were friends." He beamed. "Don't try and deny it."

Avalon bit her lower lip as she looked at the ground, suddenly embarrassed. Maybe 'friends' was too strong a word. Friendship meant loyalty, understanding, and honesty with each other. She got the loyal part down, but being honest and understanding about everything else… _not_ telling them everything else…what was going to happen with that when they found out? Would they have to move again? Start all over again? She slowly shook her head. _I can't do that to Bailey. We'll figure out what to do._ Avalon lifted her head and shrugged. "I mean, since we're all stuck in this thing together…and you all don't seem to want to leave me alone."

The other rangers smiled, seemingly able to see through her ruse of wanting to downplay things.

"We'll take that for now," Trini said. She walked over to Avalon and put her arm around her shoulders. "But don't think you're off the hook yet." She wagged her finger in Avalon's face and the two girls started laughing, soon everyone joined in, laughing as well.

"So who's ready to head back to the dance?" Kimberly asked. She leaned into Tommy's side, looping her arm around his. "I'm, like, so ready to have some more fun."

"Sounds good to me," Tommy agreed.

"There's just one last thing that we have to do," Jason said mysteriously. He held out his hand. Tommy, Kimberly, Zack, Trini, and Billy all placed theirs on top of him. They looked towards Avalon and she made a show of rolling her eyes before stepping in between Kimberly and Trini and placing her hand on top of theirs as well.

"Power Rangers!" They cheered, jumping into the air.


	15. Family Matters

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Family Matters_

Zack leaned back in his seat, waiting for his mother to finish with breakfast. He bobbed his head along with the music that came flooding out of his headphones, his CD player was sitting on the table next to him with a stack of CDs resting next to that. He drummed his fingers on the edge of the table, ignoring the sting that came up with each slap. It was the kind of music that you could _groove_ to, something that got you off your feet and made you want to forget the very things that were bringing you down. He only listened to the music that would put a smile on his face. Not that all music didn't so that, just some more than others.

"Sweetie, please take your headphones off when you're at the table," Mrs. Taylor said. With the flat of her hand, she pushed the back of Zack's chair so it was resting on all fours once more. Zack complied and smiled as his mother leaned over him and placed a plate of food in front of him. "Thank you." She kissed her son on the back of the head.

"Looks great, Mom," Zack said, smiling and rubbing his hands together. He picked up his fork and knife, twirled them in his hands and drummed them against the table before cutting the large pancake that was sitting on his plate and leaned forward, digging in. He looked up when his father walked into the room. "Hey Pop, what's up?"

"Nothing much is going on here," Mr. Taylor replied. He sat down across from Zack and smiled at his wife, gently kissing her on the hand as she went to get her own plate. "And I'd appreciate it if you spoke properly."

"Sorry," Zack said. He exchanged glances with his mother and smiled a little. She smiled back, winking at him before joining her husband and son at the table. He was always telling him that he needed to 'speak properly' and not use as much slang. It didn't seem to be anything that Mr. Taylor took too seriously, as he just told him the same thing over and over again, he never actively did anything about it. "I meant, how are you doing today, father?"

Mr. Taylor slowly smiled. "You need to work on your smart mouth," he said before lifting the remote from the table and turning on the TV. The fingers on Zack's left hand twitched as he continued to eat. He was never particularly fond of the news and tried to drown it out whenever he could. How many times could he hear that the power rangers saved the day and all of Angel Grove? How many times could he hear it without feeling that wave of guilt and anxiety wash through his body? Without having to wonder when his secret was going to be revealed? Without wondering when the next time their parents were going to be taken and held hostage? There was always that risk that everyone around them was going to be taken away just because they were trying to save the city and the world.

 _If I had known that they were going to be put in danger too, from the beginning, I don't know if I would have taken it,_ Zack thought.

He glanced up at his mother and father, they were totally enraptured with whatever the news was telling them. It was always something around that city; pollution problems, monster attack, government taxes or whatever else they came up with. It wasn't until Zack reached over to grab his glass of orange juice that something had caught his attention.

"And in other news, another house has been robbed," the news reporter said. Zack turned around to look at the TV screen. "This has been the fifth report in the past two days and it doesn't seem like things are ending anytime soon. So far, the houses are in the California Dunes subdivision, which is, admittedly, one of the richer neighborhoods in the city." Zack's eyebrows lowered as he continued to watch. _Kimberly lives there,_ he realized. "We urge you to be on the lookout as we figure out the culprits behind these attacks. So far the police have reason to believe that some of the local gangs are to blame, though we can't rule anyone out. There are some precautions you can take to avoid this falling on you as well such as making sure all your windows and doors are locked, hiding your valuables in a safe, investing in a security system, leave your lights on if you're going to leave your house, make sure that you can trust your neighbors…"

Zack turned away from the TV again, frowning a little. "Have you guys…heard anything about this?" He nodded over to the TV. "About the break-ins and everything?"

"I've heard a few things about it," Mrs. Taylor said, concern sliding into her face. "But I didn't know that it was this big. Whoever is doing this, they know that they're good at it or else they wouldn't have been able to get so many houses in such a short amount of time."

"How do you know it's one person?" Mr. Taylor pointed out. "It's like the reporter said, the local gangs around here have been a problem, even more so over the recent years. It's gotten to the point that we can't go places at night because of it."

"So you really think that it's a gang?" Zack's eyebrows shot up.

Mr. Taylor shook his head. "I don't know what it is, son, all I know is that I hope whoever it is gets caught soon, it's bad enough that we seem to have some sort of monster epidemic around here, but now having to worry about someone breaking into your house? That's a lot scarier than a monster."

Zack wasn't so sure about that. How many fights and up-close battles had his father had with one of Rita's and Zedd's creations? They could get pretty scary sometimes. Not knowing what they were going to do with whatever hostage they had that day or if they would make some sort of mistake that would reveal everything and then have their powers stripped away. What would happen then? Zack shook his head. There were too many questions now, too many liabilities that would just ruin everything.

 _You knew about the risks when you started,_ Zack thought. _And you agreed to do it anyway, so it's ultimately up to you._

"Looking into the face of another human and see that they were going to potentially harm you…invading your face…that is a lot worse than having to deal with a monster or even your co-worker." He and Mrs. Taylor laughed. Zack shook his head, he didn't really get the joke, but it must have been something important.

Zack got up from the table and walked his plates to the sink, soaking them. "I gotta boogie," he said. "Some of my friends are coming over to work on some school stuff."

"You?" Mr. Taylor pushed back his chair. "You're going to do homework on the weekend?" He looked Zack up and down. "Are you sure that you're my son?"

Zack laughed and clapped his father on the shoulder. "Thanks Dad, I really appreciate that." He went back over to the table and started to gather his CD player, headphones, and CDs. He then watched as his father looked over at his wife, lowering his fork and knife as he did so. He cleared his throat and ran a hand over his mustache. "Is something wrong, Dad?"

"It's just something that we want to talk to you about," Mr. Taylor said. He pressed his fingertips together and looked hard at his son. "We see that you're really into your music and everything and that it may be important for you. We just think that you could be using your energy in…better ways."

"Like?" Zack frowned. He didn't understand where this was coming from. They didn't have any problem with what he had been doing before.

"Like your music, son, it's more of a hobby than anything else," Mr. Taylor continued. "And like I said, we think you could use your energy in a better way. Like, football."

"But Dad, I'm on the track team," Zack protested.

"And that was good at first, but it's not that you're cut out for," Mr. Taylor continued. "Our family is filled with football players. You're a football player, you have the fast feet and quick reflexes to be a good running back or even a quarterback if you wanted." Zack sighed loudly, dropping his gaze to his music. "I know that you're upset, or are just confused, not knowing where this is coming from, but we think that it's the best thing for you." Zack slowly lifted his head, looking at his father. "That's why we called the school and talked to them and you're now part of the football team."

"What?!" Zack dropped everything back to the table. "You can't do that!"

"We already did," Mr. Taylor said. His voice had turned quiet now, a sure sign that he was slowly becoming angry. "And please don't raise your voice at me. Your mother and I made a decision and we want you to hold to it. Come Monday, the football coach is expecting you on the field ready and willing to practice with them.

"But my music-"

"You can do what you want with it, but it's not something that's going to get you far in life."

"But-"

"Now you listen to me, son!" Mr. Taylor surged to his feet and Zack fell silent, looking away from his Dad. Mr. Taylor's eyes narrowed as he pointed a finger directly at his son, jabbing it every now and then as he spoke vehemently. "We want what's best for you and the track team and your dancing stuff, that's not what's best for you. We want you to go far with the talent that you have." Zack clenched his jaw, breathing through his nose. "There are so many scholarships and opportunities that you can have with football. I'm not going to discuss it any further!" He fixed the lapel on his jacket. "I know you're not happy with it, but you're going to have to live with it."

Zack turned to appeal to his mother. "Mom-"

"Both of us are in agreement on this," Mr. Taylor interrupted.

Zack made a tsk sound, shaking his head. Once again, he gathered things together. He expected to have a good day with his friends, and now here he was, having his life ruined by his parents over something so stupid. Couldn't they understand that he wanted to do what he liked, what he loved? He would rather have a low paying job that he loved as opposed to a high paying job he hated. "Man, this is whack!" He said and stormed out of the room. He ignored his father's demand to go back and went into his room flinging his things onto his bed. Looking at his watch, he picked up his dance shoes and went out to the garage to wait for them to arrive. He stepped out into the cool area as Jason walked up the driveway.

"Am I the only one that's exhausted?" Jason ran a hand over his face. "I mean, the dance wasn't that long ago, but I feel like I haven't slept in weeks." Zack didn't answer him, instead, he sat down on the steps and started to pull on his shoes. "Whoa, what happened, Zack? You look like you want to punch someone out."

"Is it against the law to punch out my Dad?" Zack mumbled.

"Against the law? Maybe not, but it's not a good idea," Jason replied. He walked over and sat down on a workout bench that was in the corner of the room. "What happened? You look really steamed."

Zack sighed heavily, shaking his head. "My Dad just told me that I have to quit the track team and stop dancing so I can join the football team." Jason's eyes widened as he pressed his lips together. "It sucks, man! I tried to tell him that it wasn't what I wanted, that my dancing was important to me, but he doesn't get it. He and Mom have made up their minds." He slapped his hands onto his thighs. "They already called the coach and told him that I'll be there at practice, so I have to go now."

"I'm sorry, dude," Jason said. He shook his head. "Have you tried to sit down with him and explain that dancing isn't just a passing thing?" He studied Zack's face and as surprised to see that there wasn't an ounce of energy in his face. This wasn't the Zack that he knew, the Zack that was his best friend. The Zack he knew was a prankster, liked to have fun, and had as much energy as a class of kindergartners. This was the most quiet that he had ever heard him.

"There's no point," Zack said, sounding defeated. "He just wants me to do what he wants and I don't want to rock the boat." He stood up, wiping his hands off on the sides of his jeans. "What are you doing here anyway? I was going to work on my project with Billy and Avalon."

"Oh, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the park or something," Jason said with a shrug. He glanced up at the weights that were littered on the floor. "I wasn't sure if you already had something planned." He stood up and started to stack weights onto the barbell that rested at the top of the bench. Turning around, he watched as Zack turned on the radio and started to do a few, quick dances moves on the spot before moving across the floor, becoming immersed in the steps. Jason grinned at Zack. "Maybe scope out some babes or something."

Zack grinned back at him.

"I'm pretty sure most girls wouldn't be particularly happy that you refer to them as babes, mate." The two boys turned around to see Avalon walking into the garage, a backpack slung over one of her shoulder. She stopped at the threshold of the garage and lightly kicked her leg. "Uh…hi."

"Hey." Zack smiled and nodded at her. "Glad you could make it. Where's Billy?"

"He might be late," Avalon replied, hesitating a minute before coming fully into the garage. She dropped her backpack to the ground and leaned against a work bench. "I think he's still trying to figure out what went on with that white cube and the new attack power he has or something." She ran a hand through her hair and shrugged.

Jason crossed his arms over his chest. "You seem to be pretty calm about this," he said.

"Well, every time something happens, we always have more questions than answers," Avalon pointed out. "So I figured that I would just stop worrying about everything." As she said this, she held out her palm and a fireball appeared above it. Her eyebrows lowered in confusion before she clenched her hand into a fist and it disappeared. She made the movement again and nothing happened that time. "Bailey's been treating me like a pin-cushion, by the way." She point to a few red spots on her arm. "Just to get some samples or whatever." She waved a hand before noticing two pairs of eyes on her. "What?"

"Something's different about you," Zack said, rubbing his chin.

Avalon shrugged again, looking down at her clothes, a black tank-top, a pair of jean shorts, an orange plaid shirt tied around her waist, and black boots. "Yeah, the leather jacket wasn't really me," she said mysteriously, her eyes shifting back and forth. "Plus, it was getting kind of hot."

"What's that?" Jason pointed at her wrist. Avalon lifted her hand and revealed a 'V' tattooed on the inside of her wrist. "What's it stand for?"

"Valor," Avalon said. Zack studied her as she answered before he could finish the question. Avalon crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from the black and red rangers. Zack and Jason exchanged glances and Zack could tell that he was thinking the same thing he was. "So are we going to get started on this project or what?" She pointed over at Jason. "Is he here to help or are you two just going to go off and 'scope some babes'?" She used air quotes around the words. "As you so eloquently put it."

"I don't know." Zack slowly smiled. "What with you ditching him at the dance-"

"I didn't ditch him!" Avalon swiftly interrupted him, scowling. "If I hadn't had left, then we wouldn't have beaten Arieselle. And I _did_ promise Skull at dance while we were there. How was I supposed to know that the dance was pretty much over at that point?"

"Am I not standing right here?" Jason asked, throwing his hands into the air. "It's no problem anyway, I'm not much of a dancer. So you lucked out with getting Zack as your partner for this project, I'm sure it's going to be good."

"Have you, Kimberly, and Trini decided what you guys are going to do?" Zack changed the subject.

"No, not really," Jason said with a sigh. "Every time we get together to work on it, something comes up. But that's the price to pay with what we're doing, right?"

Zack and Avalon were silent.

* * *

 

"Hey, I'm back!" Avalon called as she walked through the apartment door later that night. She dropped her backpack to the ground and went to turn on the lights. Nothing. Frowning, she flicked the switch up and down a few more times before groaning in frustration. The power was out. "Great."

"Yeah, you forgot to pay the electric bill again." Bailey's voice startled her out of her thoughts. Her sister appeared around the corner of the living room." I was going to call and say that they can't turn off the electricity because there's a kid living here." She raised the phone that was resting in her hand. "But I can't be sure what that'll mean if they ask for Mum or Dad."

Avalon nodded and ruffled Bailey's hair as she walked by her. Yeah, she understood that. There were too many things that required parents and a lot of questions. Even getting the apartment in the first place was hard. Thankfully Avalon thought quickly and explained that they had a baby with them that was waiting out in the rain and she was to go in and get everything set up for them to get the keys to the place. Afterwards, she and Bailey had been so quiet and unassuming that they had never been questioned about it. And the landlord wasn't nosy so if he ever noticed they didn't have parents with them, he didn't ask. Still, there was the problem with not having a steady cash flow and it was already starting to become a problem.

 _I haven't actively gone out with the gang in a while,_ Avalon thought, chewing her lower lip. _Chase is definitely going to kick my ass the next time I see him._ She turned and gave Bailey a fleeting smile. "No worries, Bay, I'll think of something."

"Well, I was wondering…" Bailey started to dig her toe in the ground. "With your enhanced speed and everything, why don't you just go into a store and take the food and come back?" When she lifted her head, her eyes were wide, as if she couldn't believe she had suggested it. Avalon's face mimicked Bailey's. "I-I mean because I can't seem to talk you out of doing it with Chase and the others. So how is it any different?"

Avalon twisted her mouth to the side. Bailey did have a point. They were running low on food and money again and she wasn't sure the next time they could go out on a hit. The news reports were already starting to catch on and if they didn't make any changes to make sure they didn't get caught soon, it was inevitable that something was going to get traced back to her. "I'll think about it," she replied.

Bailey looked at her funny. "What's up with you? Usually you would jump at the chance to do something that would help us out. Normally I'm the one that's trying to talk you out of it."

"Nothing," Avalon replied. "Anyway, we're going to need some light in here. Go get some candles."

"Alright." Bailey turned and went to the kitchen. Avalon walked over to the couch and sat down, running her fingers over her communicator. She could hear Bailey rummaging through the cabinets and came back with six large candles. "This is so cool," she murmured, backing up so Avalon could light them. "Just be careful not to catch the table on fire. Our plants are still smoldering on our balcony," she said.

"Yeah, yeah." Avalon lifted a hand and frowned, concentrating as she opened her palm. After a few seconds, the wicks on the candles lit and light illuminated the apartment. "Woops!" She reached out a hand and smacked the edge of the newspaper that had caught on fire. "Where's Billy when you need him?"

"Has he figured out how to use his new power yet?" Bailey crossed her legs. She started to twirl her hair around her finger, turning her face away. Avalon smiled. That was always her sister's tell-tale sign that there was something she wasn't saying.

"We didn't really mention it when he got to Zack's place," Avalon replied. When Billy had arrived, they quickly went to work on their project. The idea that they had was pretty cool, she had to admit. Especially considering that they were combining things that she, Zack, and Billy were all pretty good at on their own. It was bound to be something that no one would ever see coming. "But I was wondering how come you, Alpha, and Zordon haven't given the others the cube to use…y'know, if they could get powers from it too?"

"We don't know if it'll work with everyone," Bailey replied.

"So, basically, Billy and I are your guys' guinea pigs at the moment, "Avalon said.

"Yeah." Bailey nodded. "Especially considering you already have the power of two rangers, which we still don't know how that happened. And we need to see if there're going to be any side-effects with the powers that you all already have. It'll be too dangerous if we try to share it with the others now."

"I guess you're right," Avalon rested her chin in her hands, thinking.

"Av?"

"What?"

"If you can teleport, how come we don't go back to Oz and see if we can find Mum and Dad?" Avalon's eyes darted over to her sister and Bailey started speaking quickly. "It wouldn't take long to get there and we can see what really happened."

Avalon let out a low growl. "We already _know_ what happened, Bay!" She said. "Mum's a druggie and Dad went to go find her and he shipped us here to live with Aunt Rosie, and everything fell apart from there." She shook her head. "Why do you constantly want to try and find _them_? They should be coming back for _us_!"

"Because I want to live normally," Bailey replied.

"Newsflash, Bay, we haven't been normal in ages." Avalon gestured to their communicators. Bailey sighed heavily and Avalon mimicked the movement. The sisters smiled at each other. "Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you…I want to know what happened to them as badly as you do…but we have too much to worry about here what with Rita and Zedd and everything."

"Yeah…" Bailey nodded.

"And besides, we have to make sure that Billy gets the information that he wants, but doesn't find out about Dad being gone," Avalon continued. "It can't be much longer until he wants to talk to him face to face and Dad can't be on a business trip for too long."

"Well, you'll think of something Av," Bailey reassured her. "You always do."

"Yeah…" Avalon agreed slowly. _That's what I'm afraid of._ "So what's this I hear about you wanting to learn how to fight?" She leaned back against the couch. "Something about Tommo?"

"Oh yeah, Tommy said that he could teach me martial arts," Bailey said. "He and Jason teach a class sometimes, at the Youth Center," Bailey explained. "It'd be a good way for me to be able to take care of myself and he can look after me at the same time, when you have to leave with the others…I don't know, I just thought it might be something that could help you out."

Avalon looked at her for a long moment.

Bailey stared right back.

"If that's what you really want, then go for it," Avalon said with a wave of her hand. "I'm tired of having to save you every day anyway." She gave her sister a teasing grin and Bailey stuck her tongue out in reply.

"Boofhead," she mumbled.

"Yeah, well, this boofhead is keeping you alive one way or another," Avalon agreed. "You know that I'd do anything to make sure that you're ok, right?"

"Right." Bailey smiled a little.

"Good, just making sure you know." Avalon brought her arms up and rested them over her face as her pager started to go off. _Don't you think that you should lie low for a while, Chase? The police are going to catch us quicker than you think._ Avalon reached down and turned off her pager.

All of a sudden there was a loud bang against the door. Bailey screamed and scrambled back until she reached the wall. Avalon leapt to her feet and jammed her hand under the couch cushions. When she pulled her hand out, a small pistol was in her hands. Holding it to her side, she slowly moved towards the door, staying as silent as possible. Heart thumping against her chest, and feeling sick, she went over to the door and pressed her ear against it.

Footsteps echoed across the hall as listened.

Avalon reached out a hand and grabbed onto the door handle and threw it open, bringing up the gun as she did so. No one in the stairwell, no one in the hallway. She hid the pistol behind her back when other doors around her started to open.

"Are you ok, Miss?" An older man asked her.

"Fine," she said quickly, shuffling to the side to hide what was behind her. Once all doors were closed again, she turned to see a footprint in the door, having broken the outer shelling of wood. She looked at the floor and spotted a crude spray-painted drawing of a bird.

The High Flyers' signature. This wasn't good.

If they knew where she lived then things were just going to get worse.


	16. The Power Coin

**Chapter 16**

_The Power Coin_

Bailey rested her cheek in her hand as she gazed at her teacher, listening to her go on and on about the respiratory system, blood cells, and the body in general. Kid stuff. She learned it all when she was younger, devouring any book that was placed in her hands. Even now, when the solar system would be her favorite subject to study—which they were getting to in the next unit—but none of that could compare to what was going on with the power rangers and the Command Center. At the Command Center, she was treated as an equal and was able to get her voice heard, able to really help on new weapons and new technology to help the rangers. At school…she was another smart student that didn't have to work hard to get a good grade, and found everything else to be somewhat boring in comparison. Maybe it was a sign.

 _A sign for me to get out of here._ Bailey glanced down at her Communicator, silently willing it to go off. Anything that would let her do something exciting. She jumped at the sound of the bell starting to ring, signaling that class was over. She looked around, noticing her classmates gathering their things together, to get to the cafeteria.

"And don't forget that I need to know what your entries for the science fair is going to be," Ms. Lawson called over the noise of chairs scraping and students talking. "I need it by next Friday or else you won't be able to enter!"

Bailey got up from her seat and opened her backpack as it hung off the back of her chair. She gathered her binder and notebooks together, placing them into her backpack. She zipped it up and slung it over her shoulders, taking a step back to push her chair into her desk. As she moved backwards, she jostled something and then out a startled gasp, jumping forward and turning around. One of her classmates was standing behind her, his hand outstretched to tap her on the shoulder. However, as she had bumped into him, his eyes widened, then he smiled a little when he saw the startled look on Bailey's face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized, watching as Bailey placed a hand on her chest, sucking in a deep breath. "I thought you heard me coming up behind you." He bent down and grabbed onto her backpack, as she had dropped it when she jumped. Grinning, the boy held it out to her. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"No, I'm just trying to make sure I still have the capability of breathing," Bailey replied. She took another deep breath and let it out, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Thanks." She reached out and grabbed onto her backpack.

"You're welcome." The boy smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Fred Kelman."

"Bailey Mitchell." Bailey grabbed onto his hand and firmly shook it. Slinging her backpack over her shoulders she started to walk out of the room. Footsteps fell behind her and she angled her head to see Fred catching up to her. Bailey stopped in her tracks, pushing her hair behind her ears. "Um. Did you want something?"

Fred gave her a funny look. "Well, you're new here, right? I was just wondering how things were going for you."

Bailey's right eyebrow rose as she continued to look at him. "I've been here for a couple of months and you're _now_ asking me that?" She shook her head. _Boofhead._ "I'm doing fine, thanks." She hitched her backpack up her shoulders, starting to walk a little faster. _God, now I'm starting to sound like Av._ She slowed her pace again. She hadn't mean to be so rude, but not many people had talked to her since she had moved, probably thinking she was a nerd after seeing the good grades she got. "Sorry." Bailey turned to Fred again. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's no problem," Fred reassured her. He gave her a warm smile before it fell into a look of apprehension. "So, do you have a partner for the science fair?"

"I wasn't sure if I was going to enter," Bailey murmured. "I'm too busy." She chewed her lower lip. She _was_ much too busy. There was too much to think about. What with the Command Center, keeping the other rangers' identities a secret when she just wanted to scream it from the rooftops that her older sister and her friends were power rangers, then there was being on the lookout in case there was another monster attack, wondering what was going on with her parents because Avalon wouldn't tell her, worrying about Avalon whenever she left the apartment, and now the High Flyers had tagged their place. She didn't know a lot about what that meant, Avalon refused to tell her, but she knew it was bad.

"Oh, that's too bad." Fred nodded. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a black baseball cap. He looked around before sliding it onto his head, covering his hair, except for the small tuft that stuck out the front, flopping across his forehead. "I was hoping that you would like to work with me."

"Me?" Bailey's eyes widened. "Why me?" They reached the cafeteria and stood in line to get their food. She picked up a tray and spun it on the tips of her fingers, waiting for the line to move. A sudden thought struck her. _He's probably like every other person in this place. Just wants to get a good grade and not have to do any of the work._ "If you're planning on using me to get an easy A, then you can just forget it. I'm not that stupid."

"No! No!" Fred laughed, reaching over to grab an apple. His eyes moved over the choices for the main entrée and after selecting a burger and fries, he looked back over at Bailey again. "I thought that we'd have fun working together. That's all."

"Oh." Bailey's face burned. She chose her lunch and slid her tray over to the cash register, paying for it with the money that Avalon had given her. _The money she got from pawning everything._ Bailey pushed away the urge to sigh heavily. They were in such a mess, she knew Avalon was just trying to help her, but she didn't understand it? Why didn't they just teleport back home to see if they could find their parents? Or at least have some ideas to what was going on with it? Avalon knew a bit more than she did, as she was the older sister, but there was still a shroud of mystery that Bailey was dying to uncover.

"So what do you say?" Fred paid for his food and led Bailey over to an empty table. The two sat down and he picked up his fork, twirling it around his fingers. "Do you want to be partners?" He flashed her a boyish smile and Bailey let out a short sigh.

 _Maybe it'd be better to work on my own,_ she thought. But…he was really the first one that had started a conversation with her since she got there. Ever since she had been there, she had been a bit hesitant to try and make friends. No one was willing to try with her, since no one really wanted to get to know the new kid. But this time…he was talking to her first.

"I'll think about it," Bailey finally said.

"Great." Fred's smile widened.

* * *

 

"What do you see, Billy?"

Billy leaned away from the microscope and lowed his glasses back over his face. He shook his head, looking over at Alpha, who hovered by his side, waiting for Billy's response. Avalon was sitting on his other side, her hands in her lap, playing with the end of the plaid shirt tied around her waist.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, I'm afraid," he said. Rubbing his eyes, he looked back and forth between Avalon and Alpha. "Nothing in Avalon's blood or other DNA indicates that there's anything molecularly altered even with the power that she has." He turned to Avalon, who sighed loudly, resting her elbows on the lab bench, frowning deeply. Billy reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, Av, we'll figure this all out soon."

"It's not that, mate," Avalon shook her head. Her frown deepened. "It's…I don't know, everything, I guess." Glumly, she rested her chin in her hands, looking down at the slides that were sitting in front of her. They were each filled with the same solution to test the molecular structure of Avalon's hair, nail, blood, and tiny piece of her skin. It seemed that the more they worked, the less answers they got out of everything.

Billy twisted his mouth to the side as he studied her. Though she still had a standoffish air about her—despite admitting that the rangers were her friends a week ago—she usually had something to say about anything. As long as he knew them, which was only a couple of months, he had never heard her be so quiet. Billy made a humming sound and rotated on his stool until he faced Alpha. "Alpha, do you mind giving us some time to talk?"

"Of course not, Billy," Alpha said. He gazed at the orange and blue rangers before walking out of the lab. Billy waited until the door slid shut behind him before turning back to the orange ranger. "What's going on, Av? Really?"

Avalon's upper lip started to curl. Where to begin? The fact that she and her sister's apartment was now being watched by the High-Flyers? The fact that Chase was probably going to kill her the next time he saw her? How Kimberly was now a part of it because they stole and pawned off some of her jewelry? How Bailey was starting to ask more questions about the whereabouts of their parents? How she didn't even know what was going on with their parents? How Billy wanted to hear from her father soon when she had no idea where he was? How they were probably the most alone that she had ever known anyone?

The list went on and on. How could she bring herself to talk about it? If one thing came out, everything would, and at that point, everything would fall apart. Bailey was young, she'd probably be put in foster care and be with a great home, she, herself, was probably going to be stuck in the system…would they even be put into foster care? They had parents, they just weren't around. It was all so confusing.

"It's nothing, really," Avalon insisted. "You wouldn't understand." She slapped her hands over her mouth.

"I happen to understand a lot of things," Billy pressed gently. Avalon didn't reply, her twitching lips showing that she seemed to want to say something, but couldn't. Or didn't want to. "You _do_ know that you can trust me, right?"

"I think that was proven when I willingly let you stick a cotton swab in my mouth, mate," Avalon said, her voice muffled by her fingers as they cupped her chin. "Seriously, I could have easily bitten off your finger if you didn't warn me about it first."

"I don't doubt it," Billy chuckled. He squeezed Avalon's shoulder again ad she finally turned to look at him. "I'm serious, though, if there's anything that you ever need to talk about. Or talk to _someone_ about, I'm here to listen." Avalon nodded. "All of us are," he added.

Avalon gave a small smile and placed her hand on top of Billy's. "Thanks Smurf," she said. She gave his hand a squeeze before gently pushing it off of her shoulder and standing up. "That actually…kinda helps." She ran a hand through her hair, glancing at the slides once more. "I don't get it though, if I really do hold the power of two rangers…and that cube that lets us use fire and water came from it as well, how come it's not coming up in any of these slides? I mean, you figured it'd be in my DNA."

"Well, that's the point of being a scientist, Av," Billy said, crossing his arms over his chest. "When-"

"Something doesn't work out, you have to keep trying until every answer is exhausted," Avalon finished the sentence for him. Billy smiled. Avalon glanced over at him and then her eyes widened. She let out a shriek and backed away from Billy, pointing a finger over at him. "I've been around you too long! You and Bailey! You're both starting to brainwash me!"

Billy laughed. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Avalon placed her hands on her hips. "Having no on understand you has made you really cynical, hasn't it, mate?" Billy shrugged and smiled. "Mm, it was bound to happen sometime. Bailey's smart mouth has been getting on my nerves…ever since she learned how to talk." She rolled her eyes and Billy laughed again.

Avalon gave a half smile and then sighed again. Guilt rocketed through her body, radiating through her bones and landing with a sickening thud in her stomach. It was the worst time for that to happen; she wanted it all to go away. Everything. She wished it could go back to normal, where she and Bailey only had to rely on each other and there were no monster attacks, no intergalactic beings that wanted to destroy them, and no one else that could potentially blow their cover.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Billy asked her.

"No," Avalon said mysteriously. "I'm not."

* * *

 

"Alpha, please take the power coin out of its display case," Zordon instructed.

Alpha did as he was told. He gently picked up the glass that was covering the new power coin. Alpha picked it up in his hand and studied it. On the front was a picture of an Ankylosaurus roaring upwards, its tail curved at the bottom of the coin. As he held onto it, it glowed such a dark blue-violet, almost black, across the face. He didn't think that he would have seen the power coin be used, wasn't even sure if it was in existence. The Power could only be stretched so far and with seven rangers already, he wasn't how an eight one would be used as well. Then there were the other zord…the Ankylosaurus zord. It had been nearly destroyed the last time it was in battle, as he stared at the coin, it was in pieces collecting dust, waiting for its time to be used again. Who knew if it was going to get the chance? Especially with Rita's and Zedd's new monster and not knowing how to chance the Stegosaurus zord back the way it was.

"What do you want me to do with it, Zordon?" Alpha asked, looking up at his friend.

"I want you to be sure that the other rangers don't find it, not until the time's right," Zordon explained. "The Ankylosaurus zord can't be used until the owner of that power coin is found. Rita and Zedd have already found out Avalon's identity of being the orange ranger, if they find out we have another ranger amongst us, then they'll try even harder to destroy us all. Who knows what monster they can come up with after their current ones are defeated?"

"But Zordon, another rangers could be what we need to defeat Rita and Zedd," Alpha protested.

"We can't take that risk Alpha, especially considering this power coin was re-created from the power from Avalon and we still haven't cracked the code on that," Zordon explained. "We need to focus on the task at hand, and that's fending off Rita and Zedd as long as we can, and figure out the source behind the cube's power."

"If you're sure, Zordon," Alpha said hesitantly.

He closed his hand around the power coin, glancing up at Zordon once more. He wondered if Rita and Zedd were really what he was worrying about, of if it was the power of the Ankylosaurus. The rangers didn't know about the mythological pasts of their zords and the animals that represented them. They didn't know what the Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Saber-tooth Tiger, Mastodon, Pterodactyl, White Tiger, Stegosaurus, or Ankylosaurus had gone through before they had been harnessed by the Power to aid Zordon's fight against Rita and Zedd. The Ankylosaurus had gone through so much heartbreak at one point that it had gone rouge and attacked the others dinosaurs, reacting harshly to everything around it until it had to be banished. Maybe Zordon was thinking if someone used that Power, before either of them were sure it would be able to be controlled.

"I am, Alpha," Zordon insisted. "At the moment, we need to focus on the rangers staying as focused as possible against Rita's and Zedd's monsters. If we told them about this now, their worries will shift over to what can be helped. You may not agree with me now, Alpha, but I believe it's for the best."

Alpha nodded and turned to walk to another secret room in the Command Center. He looked back at Zordon once more-wanting to stop and tell Zordon that what he was doing was wrong—before continuing inside. The robot trudged over to another display case and carefully put the power coin inside before reaching over and pushing a button. Little red lines appeared, crisscrossing around the case. He stared at the power coin under the security lasers.

For once in his long friendship with Zordon, Alpha didn't trust Zordon's decision.

He didn't think he was doing the right thing...


	17. Secrets and Lies

**Chapter 17**

_Secrets and Lies_

Avalon let out a shriek of pain as her head snapped to the side, the force of the blow sending her to the ground. Breathing heavily, she bit her lower lip, raising her hand to her face. The skin was already rising, becoming puffy under her fingers. The sting brought tears to her eye, allowing it to roll down her cheek. She clamped her teeth down harder on her lip; that was rule number one to her, never let anyone see you cry. Avalon placed her hands on the ground and pushed herself back to her knees. She was back on the ground, holding onto her side and writing in pain when a foot connected with her ribs.

Chase crossed his arms over his chest, stalking Avalon like a lion to its prey. He kept his eyes on her as he walked in a large circle around her. Skye and Summer, who were sitting in the back corner of the room watched silently, not offering any help. Chase watched as Avalon rolled onto her back and sucked in a sharp breath, staring at the ceiling. She flinched as Chase knelt next to her, gently running a finger down her cheek. "I wouldn't have to do this if I could trust you," he growled.

"You can trust me," Avalon wheezed. She briefly closed her eyes, trying to focus on her breathing instead of the throbbing pain. In and out, in and out. Opening her eyes once more, she focused on the ceiling, instead of Chase's face. Their warehouse was more rundown than she remembered, there were holes in the ceiling and the walls were starting to rust. Who knew how long it would take until it all fell down. Hopefully it would give her some mercy and fall down on her at that moment. _I could only be so lucky,_ she thought. "You know you can."

"No, I _don't_ know that." Chase grabbed onto the front of her shirt and lifted her up. Avalon's head dropped back at the sudden pull. "I don't know that because you've been ditching us a lot lately, too much for my liking. You don't understand what that means for us, how things have been going for us. We've lost more territory because of _you_."

Avalon gritted her teeth but didn't respond. It wouldn't be smart. She had been in this position before and had witnessed it herself, how Chase could let his anger and frustration get to him. She had seen him beat a guy an inch from death, and it was his own gang member, just because he questioned his decision on something. What was stopping him from doing it this time? But to her? He never discriminated against gender, he treated them both equally. If he felt that someone needed to be put in their place, they were put in their place. Unfortunately, Avalon was the one stuck in it this time. She had gone to see them, after days of having to miss out on hits and missing phone calls and pages because she was with the rangers, now he was finally letting out his frustration on her.

"So I'm wondering what to do with you…" Chase shoved Avalon back onto the ground, causing her to crack her head. She immediately curled up into a ball, her hands flying to her head. The lump was big, steadily growing bigger as the seconds passed. A dull throb pushed at her temples, as if trying to break out into the stale air around them. "Should I keep you around, to prove to us that you really want to be here, to help us out? Because, frankly, we all know that we're the only family that you have." He reached out a hand and clamped it around Avalon's neck, holding onto her tightly.

Avalon sucked in a breath, moving her hands to his throat. _This guy is crazy. He's really snapped this time…how could I not notice it before?_ She frantically raked her nails against the back of his hand, but he continued to push harder and harder. The edges of her vision started to go back and a terrible sucking sound came from her mouth. Her head swam and her eyes rolled around, the darkness was eating away at her vision, what she could see was starting to get smaller and smaller as the pressure increased on her neck. "Ch..ase…let…go…."

"And there's also the choice that I could get rid of you _entirely_!" He brought a hand back and slapped her across the face once more. He threw her back to the ground, backing a few paces away from her, until he was standing with Skye and Summer, who continued to watch the exchange, grim expressions of determination on their face. "What with the High-Flyers now knowing where you live, you need protection now more than ever. So the choice is yours…" He waited for Avalon to look at him. "Are you going to stick with us…or are you going to leave? Either way, I'm going to have a good time giving you a goodbye." He cracked his knuckles.

Avalon hesitated. What was the better option? Staying with the gang and putting everyone around her in general? Or leaving the gang and putting herself and Bailey in the utmost danger. She knew since she got in, that the only thing that was keeping her sister safe was her loyalty to the Vipers. They were the ones that had taken her in and proved to her that there were some people out there that cared about her and her wellbeing. They were the ones that had replaced her missing parents as family figures and had been the ones that had took her in with open arms when she had nowhere to go. They were the ones that helped her get into her apartment, the ones that gave her the idea of how to con the landlord into letting her and Bailey in without having a parent sign the lease. She fell into the whirlwind of the life and had grown to see them as her friends.

It was one new thing—becoming a power ranger—and having new people that treated her better than the gang did that had her question everything she had already known. And it all started with that stupid pearl necklace. How could she sit there and fight with someone, knowing that she had broken into her house numerous times to steal from her. It made her feel better at times, when she reminded herself that it was to help Bailey and to let her grow up as normally as possible. If she knew that it was going to get this bad, putting the other rangers in danger from not only Rita's and Zedd's monsters, but from other humans…if she knew that she was going to become a ranger, she probably would have told someone that her Aunt hadn't been there when their father, Captain William Mitchell had sent them from their home in Australia to the US. They had been so confused and so hurt with what was going on, one day their mother was there, the next she wasn't and their father spent long hours at work so Avalon started to raise Bailey, essentially, on her own.

When they had arrived at the airport without their aunt picking them up, they didn't learn until much later that it was because she had moved from California to New York. She hadn't been in close contact with her brother for many years so she hadn't known that they were coming over. Instead of trying to find someone to stay with, Avalon took matters into her own hands to get them food and shelter for the night and things progressed from there until they got the apartment. They had been living there without any problems for a while, going to public school, forging signatures on forms to be able to attend. Then redistricting happened and they had to go to Angel Grove Middle and High School, which started everything from there. Who knew that one pearl necklace was going to shake their lives up all over again? They had become comfortable with their routine and the way they were living, the other residents of the apartment building just thought their parents worked a lot, explaining why they were never seen.

 _I had been so careful,_ Avalon thought, continuing to stare at Chase as he waited for her answer. _So careful with everything, being able to live on our own, go to school, and let Bailey have a good life. And now it's starting to fall around me all over again._

"Let me rephrase," Chase snapped. His narrowed eyes were the only indication that he was starting to become ticked. "Do you want to be with us…or your other friends?"

Avalon took a deep breath. This was going to be the hardest decision she was going to have to make. "They're not my friends, mate,' she murmured. "I don't care…I don't care about them at all." _Liar_ , she told herself. She quickly pushed the thought away, knowing that they were some of the better people that she had met in years. She just couldn't put them in danger.

Chase nodded. "Good."

And it was good, she was just going to have to work harder to keep both of her lives separate. She could do it, she had done it before, she could do it now. It would take a lot of work, but for her sister, it was worth it. Avalon felt a familiar warmth in her hands and looked down to see that they were glowing a slight orange with a black border. The same thing that she had seen when she had first placed her hands on the cube.

There were so many question that needed to be answered about her, her father and her life.

Hopefully there would be a time where she didn't have to keep so many secrets from so many people.

Hopefully, soon, there was going to be a time where she was happier.

* * *

 

Tommy backed away from Jason as he aimed a flying kick at his face. As Jason soared overhead, Tommy tucked his shoulder down and rolled across the workout mats, coming back up on his feet and holding his hands up in a fighting stance. Jason looked a little annoyed, but then his calm and stoic demeanor slid back onto his face. His eyes darted around Tommy and the space around him for a few moments and the two launched into an attack once more. Punches and kicks were blocked, they were evenly matched, that much was clear. That was the basis of their friendship as well, their competitiveness with each other in weight lifting as well as their fighting.

Tommy blocked a fist that was coming towards his face, using both of his hands to push Jason's arm down, then twisted to the side, swinging the side of his fist into Jason's side, underneath his upraised arm. Jason dropped his arms, laughing a little, and held out his hand. Tommy grinned and clasped his into it, bringing him forward and into a man hug, slapping him on the back a couple of times.

"Good job," Tommy congratulated him. "You almost has me that time."

" _Almost_?" Jason stretched his arms over his head, his muscles rippling as he did so. A teenage girl that walked by them, heading towards the weight lifting machines, looked Jason up and down and gave him a flirty smile, Jason smiled and nodded back, causing Tommy to laugh lightly, rolling his eyes. "I totally had you, I just lost my focus for a second."

"A second too long," Tommy said. He reached over and grabbed his fluffy white towel, dabbing at his face. "It's going to take a lot to beat me." He laughed as Jason made a snorting sound, a water bottle at his lips. He just about spit it out on the ground.

"Next time, I'm seriously going to knock your ego down about three pegs, dude," Jason said, giving him a friendly poke in the chest. "I swear, I will." The two laughed and gave each other a high-five before taking another swig of their water. Tommy's eyes moved around the youth center. There were many teenagers drinking smoothies and working out or just hanging out with each other. Tommy's eyes immediately moved over to Kimberly he was always able to spot her in the crowd just as easily as she put a smile on his face. As he looked over at her, Kimberly looked up from the textbook that she was pouring over with Trini, Zack, and Billy and smiled and waved at him. Tommy waved back, causing Jason to roll his eyes once more.

"Dude, seriously, you two together gives me a cavity," he said.

"You're just jealous that you don't have anyone right now," Tommy replied. He knew that Jason was just teasing, he and Kimberly got that from their friends a lot. That they were perfect together and that they were waiting for a wedding. And the thing was he was starting to feel a lot more about Kimberly than he had before. He was unequivocally happy with Kim and couldn't see the rest of his life without her. He had come to the conclusion, days before, that he had started to fall in love with her. He was in love with her and he wanted to be able to tell her that. It was the fear that she would reject him, not knowing how she would respond, that kept him from telling her.

"Not true," Jason protested. He pointed over to the weight lifting machines, at the teenage girl that had smiled at him before. "I would go out with her, if I wanted to." He shrugged. "I'm just not interested." Tommy studied him carefully.

"You're the guy that likes to go out with girls as much as possible," Tommy said slowly. "You and Zack both, though he seems to be completely hung up on Angela at the moment. So what's changed?" He crossed his arms over his chest, sticking his hands into his armpits. Jason avoided the question, purposefully putting his towel over his face, and rubbing vigorously to wick the sweat away. Tommy laughed and tilted his head back to take another swig of water. He noticed Avalon and Bailey enter the youth center, waving them over.

Bailey had a sports bag over her shoulders and was bouncing her way over to Tommy and Jason, as energetic as ever. When she stopped in front of the two of them, her smile widened even further. "Hi Tommy! Hi, Jason!" She motioned to her sports bag. "I'm ready if you are."

"Ready for what?" Jason chuckled to himself, draping his towel around his neck.

"For a karate lesson," Bailey explained. She pointed over her shoulder at Avalon, who stood behind her. "Tommy told me that you guys did classes and stuff and I asked Av and she said that I could join a class if I wanted to."

Avalon scratched her jaw. "It was more like relentless bugging, so I figured I'd get her to shut up if I said that she could do it." Bailey slapped her in the stomach, causing the two boys to laugh, and Avalon let out a slight groaning sound, discreetly moving her hands to her stomach. "Y'see? If she decided to do that to take care of herself, then I wouldn't have to worry about getting hit myself."

"Oh don't be a baby," Bailey replied causing Avalon to stick her tongue out at her. Bailey stuck her tongue out as well, causing the green and red rangers to start laughing all over again. "So…" Bailey started to rock back and forth on her heels. "Can I join your guys' class? Is that ok?"

"Yeah, it's alright with me," Tommy said. "I was the one that suggested it anyway."

"Good, while you're doing that, I can go and-"

"Av,"-Jason cut her off-"why don't you join the class, too?"

Avalon slowly turned to look at him, first only moving her eyes, then turning to face him, crossing her arms over her chest. Tommy could see that her movement showed more of her being closed-off than of the casual stance that he and Jason had taken. He noticed her eyes flash and nervously looked over at Bailey, who was slowly shaking her head, as if expecting this to happen. _I don't doubt it,_ Tommy reasoned. _She's the one that spends the most time with her. And Avalon was never really friendly when we first met her. She's gotten better, but still…I thought she would have trusted us by now._

"One, don't call me Av," Avalon instructed. Her eyebrows quirked up. "And two, I'm far too busy as it is, so why would I want to?"

Jason shrugged. "I just think that it might help you a little," he said calmly. "To get some more structure in your fighting as opposed to the wild way that you do already."

Avalon scowled, slightly tilting her head down. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but a chunk hung over her left eye and left cheek, strategically covering up the wound that Chase had given her earlier. "Sorry, mate," she said coolly. "I thought Tommo was the leader of this group." With that, she turned on her heel and walked over to the other rangers, taking out a chair and heavily dropping down into it.

"Don't worry about her," Bailey said, waving a hand. "She's just in a bad mood."

"You don't have to make excuses for her, Bailey," Jason said. Tommy watched Bailey's reaction, she looked surprised, her eyes widening for a second, and then she looked down at her feet, chewing her bottom lip. "Bay?"

"So can we start the class or what?" She murmured, shuffling her feet.

Tommy exchanged a glance with Jason, he could see that the red ranger had the same expression on his face. This was confusing, there was something off about the two of them, that much was obvious. But what could it be that made her run so hot and cold all the time and have her younger sister always try to explain things away. She was smart, she was the technical advisor at the command center now, and while it was clear that she enjoyed her job, she didn't seem to ever act like a kid her age, as sad as that was.

"Yeah, let's get started," Tommy said. He instructed for Bailey to drop her bag to the ground and to take off her shoes. She did as she was told and followed Tommy and Jason onto the workout pads, her eager smile back on her face. "First, what do you know about martial arts?"

Bailey's eyes lit up. "Martial arts is the codified systems and traditions of combat practices, which are practiced for a variety of reasons: self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, entertainment, as well as mental, physical, and spiritual development." She tilted her head to eth side, thinking for a moment, scratching the back of her neck. "Oh and punching, kicking, throwing, chokeholds, and pinning techniques are the most used, depending on the sort of style that you're going for."

"Good job." Jason nodded. "You really do know your stuff." He bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just don't forget that the main principal behind martial arts is self-defense. You don't practice it so you're able to beat up whoever you want, it's to teach self-control and discipline as well as giving you a way to protect yourself."

Bailey nodded.

"If you remember that, then you're good to go," Tommy added. "Ok, so the first thing that we're going to teach you is the right fighting stance." He and Jason stood up straight, their hands to their sides. "When you're going to start, you want to stand up straight, your back straight, and yours arms at your sides." Bailey did as she was told. "Good, now to be sure that you squeeze your arms and legs together, that way you get used to the feeling and you have the perfect stance."

Jason moved to Bailey's side and positioned her arms and legs into the right places, pressing down on her shoulders and then her arms to indicate how tightly she was supposed to squeeze to get it all together. Then he moved back to his original place and went onto the next step. "And bowing is just as important, which is what this stance is designed for. Bowing, in martial arts shows that you're beginning and ending a practice, a competition, and when entering and leaving a practice room. It's a sign of respect."

"So in that stance, bend your upper body forward until you're parallel to the floor," Tommy instructed and he and Jason did the movement. Bailey bent over, but went too far, falling over onto her face. Tommy laughed to himself and reached out, helping Bailey to her feet. "It's alright, it's hard to get used to your center of balance the first couple of times," he said helpfully. "Try again."

"But this time, when you start to feel yourself tip forward, shift your weight on your feet to keep yourself still," Jason said. He smiled warmly at her, adjusting the red sash he had tied around her forehead. "We'll just have to work on your core strength."

Bailey nodded and slapped her arms to her sides once more. She took a moment to get herself together, then bent at the waist, bowing. She teetered a few seconds, but managed to keep her balance. It wasn't perfect, but it was still good. Tommy nodded in approval and he and Jason moved on to some other things. While they worked, Tommy mentally made a list of the things that they were going to have to work on with Bailey, the biggest thing being her cardio and weight lifting, it wasn't that you just had to be strong to participate in martial arts, and it wasn't just the commitment involved as well, you had to have a good cardio and good endurance throughout. Otherwise, the constant jabs, kicks, and movements would tire out even the strongest bodybuilder.

"So, Bailey," Tommy said once they had finished and were stretching out their arms and legs. "What made you want to get into martial arts?"

Bailey shrugged, her gaze lowering to the ground. _She does that a lot_ , Tommy realized. "I just wanted to stop feeling like I kept getting in Avalon's way. You saw the fight with Gemma and Nie. I got caught so easily…I'm always getting in trouble and she's always saving me…I wanted to be able to help her somehow."

"Being our tech advisor as helped a lot," Jason reminded her. "I don't think Billy could have done any of his stuff on his own. Like with that cube that you developed."

Bailey shook her head. "I don't know if that's working out though, Avalon already had the power of two rangers, but now she and Billy have these strange powers that we can't even begin to understand why it's happening." She cleared her throat, quickly changing the subject. "So how did _you_ guys get into it?"

"I was always getting into something and needed something to do," Jason said. He laughed, running a hand through his hair. "That's what my Dad says anyway. My Mom said it was something I was always interested in. I don't really remember, I just know that I've been doing it for a long time and I really enjoy it."

"I started it as a form of exercise, but then grew to like it as well," Tommy agreed. "The self-control within it is something I like to practice as much as possible." He nudged Jason on the arm. "Especially when Bulk and Skull are around."

"You should have seen them before you got here," Jason returned. A smile bloomed on his lips as he thought about the many times the town bullies would try to humiliate him and his friends and would end up humiliating themselves without the rangers having to try. He wasn't sure what their obsession with the five friends came from, but they had been there since they were in elementary school, tormenting them along the way.

"They're not that bad," Bailey protested. "Av says that, anyway. They're just misunderstood, then again, so is Av and she's the best sister that I've ever had." She absentmindedly started to tug at her shoelaces. "She can be kind of protective and…abrasive sometimes, but she's really cool."

 _And there she goes making excuses again,_ Tommy thought. Truth be told, he didn't think of them having a sister relationship, it was more like mother-daughter. That notion came to him when he first met Bailey and saw how much of a tight rein Avalon had over her, but they were seven years apart in age, anyone with that big of a gap between their siblings would be protective. Right? "She's a good addition to the team," he finally said.

"Yeah, Mum said that she always protected me from bullies when we were kids, so it doesn't really surprise me that she's a ranger like you guys," Bailey said.

Tommy nodded. "What does your Mom do again?"

"She's a teacher," Bailey said. "And Dad works for the government. They got out of town a lot for conferences and stuff." She then let out a slight gasp, bringing her hands up to her mouth. Her expression was the epitome of guilt. She even looked like she was about to cry.

Tommy wanted so badly to ask her what was wrong, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. There was something about the look on her face that knew he would be entering some dangerous territory if he tried to bring it out of her. Instead, he gave her a disarming smile. "They must have a lot of cool stories to tell when they get back."

Bailey's shoulder slumped in relaxation, giving a shaky smile. "Yeah, but they can't be cooler than the monster attacks here." She got to her feet and grabbed onto her bag. "Thanks for teaching me this stuff, guys, I can't wait for the next class."

"It should be sometime next week," Tommy said. He grabbed his own bag and placed a hand on Bailey's shoulder, walking her over to their friends. Their textbooks were now pushed aside and they were laughing and something Zack was saying. "But, if Avalon ever needs me to babysit you again, then I'd be glad to do it when we're hanging out then."

"I can guarantee she's going to need you to babysit," Bailey mumbled. Before he or Jason could react, Bailey walked faster and reached the table. She smiled and said something to Billy. He smiled back and pulled out a chair allowing her to drop into it, a blush on her cheeks—which was there whenever Billy seemed to acknowledge her in some way.

"That was weird," Jason murmured.

"You though so too?" Tommy let out a relieved sigh. "I was going to ask about it, but I wasn't sure-"

"No, not that," Jason interrupted. It was then that Tommy noticed the serious expression on Jason's face. It was usually only there—but more alive—whenever it was a monster fight or Rita had taken someone hostage. Jason was very serious about his friends, family, and defending Angel Grove, going so far as to sacrifice himself, numerous times, to do so. "Bailey said her mother was a teacher."

"Yeah, so?" Tommy didn't see where this was going.

"Last time we asked, she said that her mother was a nurse," Jason explained. "And Bailey's old enough to know what her mother does for a living." He studied the young girl for a moment before turning back to Tommy. "Why would she lie about that?"

 _Yeah, why would she?_ Tommy chose not to answer as they reached the table. Now wasn't the time to talk about it. He wrapped an arm around Kimberly's shoulders and bent down, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Hi beautiful," he greeted her.

"Hey handsome," she replied with that mega-watt smile that could put even the most foul mood person at ease. "I was watching you two practice, you're getting really good at this." She wrapped an arm around his waist. "Trini and I were saying that you guys should enter the tournament that's coming up for Thanksgiving break."

"Only two weeks and no classes for a week!' Zack cheered. "I didn't think I would make it."

"I'm with you," Avalon agreed.

"Plus, it'll give us valuable time to finish our project," Billy spoke up, causing Avalon and Zack to groan. "What?"

"Don't mention break and homework in the same sentence, man," Zack said. He shook his head, placing his hand on Billy's shoulder. "It just brings down the party vibe of the times where we're supposed to sit back and do nothing. Please, _please_ don't do this to me." Billy smiled and slid Zack's hand off of his shoulder.

"So why don't we just talk about tomorrow," Trini suggested, looking around the table. Kimberly, Zack, Jason, Kimberly, and Billy all nodded back at her. "We're meeting at my place at seven. Mom says that you can all stay until midnight." She pointed over at Kimberly. "And you can sleep over if you want."

"Sounds rad," Kimberly agreed. "You know I'd love too, Trin."

"Um." Bailey twiddled her fingers. "What are you guys talking about?" She asked in a tiny voice, as if she was afraid of speaking in the first place. Avalon lightly hit her on the shoulder and Bailey made a whining sound. "I was just asking."

"It's alright, Bailey," Jason reassured her. He then addressed the two girls. "We're going over to Trini's house this weekend to watch movies." Avalon slowly nodding.

"And to procrastinate on whatever homework we have for the next week," Zack added. "Can anyway say Sunday night?" Avalon laughed and he held up his hand for a high-give. She hesitated a moment before returning the high-five. Kimberly and Trini exchanged glances, shaking their heads. It was just like Zack to party as much as he could and do his homework at the last minute. Who knew that he would put it off so much and still get good grades?

Trini pushed her hair behind her shoulders, securing the yellow headband that kept it out of her face. "Anyway, we have a movie night every Friday night at one of our houses," Trini explained. "We do it every weekend and vote on the movies we watch and have popcorn, eat a lot of candy, and just unwind from the stress of the week." She looked back and forth between the Mitchell sisters. "Do you guys want to come?"

Avalon's eyebrows raised in surprise, then settled into one of content. She peeked over at Jason and Tommy before pointing at herself. "Really? You want us to go?"

"Yeah, the more the merrier," Billy agreed. Bailey shook Avalon's shoulder in excitement, rocking her sister back and forth. "It'll be fun!"

Zack suddenly looked concerned, holding up a finger. "Wait a minute…you don't like chick flicks do you?"

"We're action movie fans," Bailey supplied.

Zack grinned and slapped the table with the flat of his hand. "Then that settles it, you two are definitely invited to come with." He leaned forward and placed a hand by his mouth, stage-whispering. "Now you can help us guys try to out vote Kim and Trini with the romance movies that they want to watch." Kimberly let out an offended sound and playfully swatted Zack on the back of the head before leaning into Tommy's side.

"Well, ok," Avalon said slowly. "If you're sure that you want us there."

"Of course we want you there," Trini added. "We're friends aren't we?"

Tommy thought he saw a pained expression flash over Avalon's face, but then she gave a small smile and nodded, then it faded completely. Bailey reached over and placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, gently shaking her. Avalon smiled at her and rested her forehead against her sister's causing the two to break out into similar smiles.

One moment they were closed off, the next they were open and happy…

What was going on?


	18. Covert Affairs

**Chapter 18**

_Covert Affairs_

Avalon groaned, looking at her reflection in the hallway mirror. The left side of her face was a kaleidoscope of colors ranging from black to purple to blue to green to yellow and the slight reddening by her eyes. Chase really did a number on her that time, she realized, raising a hand to gently touch the side of her face. She scowled at herself. No matter how much ice she put on her face, how many cold compresses, how many home remedies she tried to get the swelling to go down, it was like the world had something against her and wasn't going to let her forget the other half of her life. She hadn't even gotten hurt that badly when she was fighting one of Rita's and Zedd's monsters. Not even when the High-Flyers and the Vipers were fighting over their territory. She knew that Chase could be a bit sadistic at times, but this was ridiculous.

"Av, you know looking at the mirror isn't going to make that go away, right?" Bailey said, leaning on the wall next to her. Avalon shot her little sister a dismissive glance out of the corner of her eye, then brought her hand up to her face again. "I mean, I know you mucked up, but this isn't the first time, you don't have to be do depressing about it."

"I'm not being depressing," Avalon protested. She frowned, her lips puckering out into a small pout before she winced, pushing at a moderately fresh spot on her face. Tears immediately came to her eyes and she wiped them away. "I'm being realistic; there's no way that I'm going to be able to get this to go away. Not even in a couple of hours." She shook her head and pulled her hair out of her ponytail, arranging her fringe around her face, trying to cover her bruising. "And you know they're going to ask questions about it."

"Sorry." Bailey crossed her arms over her chest ad leaned back against the wall. She raised an eyebrows at her sister, an air of teasing enveloping them. "But aren't you the one that can usually come up with a lie as an excuse in a matter of seconds?"

"Usually," Avalon agreed. "But nothing's coming to mind now."

"Hey, maybe you finally got some sense knocked into you," Bailey teased. She poked her sister in the side and laughed as Avalon shot out her hand back towards her, digging her fingers into Bailey's stomach and ribs. Bailey shrieked and twisted away from her sister, laughing. "Av, stop it!"

"Yeah, yeah." Avalon ruffled her sister's hair. "Go get your shoes on." She pushed her out of the foyer and Bailey slapped her sister on the arm before disappearing around the corner, heading in the direction of her room. Turning back to the mirror, Avalon took another long look at her face before arranging her fringe to fall over her eye. She wouldn't be able to see the movie as well as she wanted, but at least it would thwart the questions for a while. Turning to grab her keys from the living room, Avalon stopped when she noticed an envelope sitting on the floor by her feet. Leaning over, she picked it up and studied the front. Her heart dropped to her stomach when she registered the red letters.

_Eviction Notice._

Avalon's fingers twitched, scrunching up the corner of the envelope between her thin fingers. Sighing heavily, she raked her fingers through her hair and walked from the foyer to the kitchen. Reaching up, she placed the envelope on top of the refrigerator, making a mental note to look at it later, to see how much time she had to get some money together before things got really bad. _Like it's not bad enough Av, you and Bailey barely have any food and now you're probably going to get throw out of the apartment. You should have known that things would pile up on you at some point._ Avalon picked up her phone and started to compose a text to Trini, letting her know that she and Bailey were on her way over to her house. Her thumb hovered over the SEND button. Would sending the text be too weird? How long did people usually have to know each other before texting was ok? She barely talked to the rangers as it was, though she could admit that she was getting warmer towards them, they didn't annoy her nearly as much as they did when she first met them.

Maybe that was the weird thing. Maybe the fact that she did think of them as her friends when she was so used to being a loner was what was making her hesitant with everything. She had no idea how to be a good friend and found herself tripping up on her words and insulting them left and right and yet they still invited her and Bailey over to watch movies. She really needed to cut herself some slack sometimes.

"I'm ready to go," Bailey said, appearing behind Avalon, making her jump.

"God! Don't _do_ that!" Avalon snapped, turning around, her hand on her chest. Her heart was beating a mile and minute, a wave of nausea washed over her. She scowled at her sister. "Goober."

"Booger," Bailey shot back. Avalon opened her mouth to say another disparaging remark, then stopped when she noticed the light amount of makeup that was on Bailey's face. Avalon frowned as she continued to look at her sister, causing Bailey to shift her feet forcing herself to look right back into her sister's eyes. "W-what?"

"Are you wearing makeup?" Avalon pressed.

Bailey took a breath. "Yes," she replied and rushed to continue when Avalon rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. "Av, it's not a big deal. It's just a little bit of lip-gloss and eye shadow. Kim taught me how to put it on…she and Trini bought me some." Avalon continued to stare at her sister. "I'm twelve, Av, I'm going to be thirteen soon, makeup at my age isn't a big deal."

"I just think that you're a little too young to be wearing it is all," Avalon said gently. Bailey's face puckered. "I mean, even Mum said that I couldn't wear makeup until I was fourteen."

"And you actually followed her rule?" Bailey snorted. "'Cause if you haven't noticed, Mum's not around. And who do you expect me to ask? Alpha and Zordon?" She waved a hand. "I don't know if you noticed, but one of them is a disembodied head and the other has animatronic fingers the size of sausages so I don't think they would know a lot about it."

"Are you _trying_ to piss me off?" Avalon demanded.

"No!" Bailey protested. "No, Av, I'm not. I'm…" she trailed off, her gaze lowering once more. Her puckered face now turning into a pout. Avalon could see that Bailey was on the verge of tears. Even behind her glasses, she could see the tears that were threatening to fall. "I just…want to be normal."

"And being a twelve year old genius that creates weapons and figures out how to make our zords better doesn't do that for you?" Avalon said sarcastically. She stood up straight, suddenly looking around. "Speaking of, where's my Stegosaurus zord? Have you and Alpha and Billy made any progress on it yet?"

"Not really," Bailey said. "It's back at the Command Center and don't change the subject."

"Look." Avalon placed her hands on her sister's shoulders, lightly shaking her. "I know that you're trying to figure out where you belong and being at your age things have to be really difficult for you. But you're doing a good job with everything that's been coming your way and you've been increasingly patient with the crap that I've put us through." She chuckled. "Frankly, I don't know what I'd do without you around." She became serious once more. "But at the same time, I'm doing my best with everything that's been thrown our way."

Bailey wanted to tell her that as much as she loved her, respected her, and would do anything she asked her too, she was also getting very tired of the way that they were living an didn't understand the constant fear that Avalon had of the truth of their situation coming out. How bad was it that they would be moved into a system that would help them get on their feet and maybe find their parents? What was so bad about being able to sleep fully through a night without lying awake for hours on end wondering if a police officer was going to bust through their front door and take her away? Bailey understood that the odds were against them and that Avalon was doing her best to stay strong for the both of them, but everyone needed help sometime.

"So if you could cut me a little slack sometimes, that'd be great," Avalon continued, dropping her hands. "I'm doing my best."

"I know," Bailey admitted. "It's ok…it's…whatever." She waved a hand. Something, she suddenly noticed, that she had taken from her sister. Bailey did have the utmost respect for her, but she couldn't help but wonder if there was anything that she could do to help her out a little. While Rita's and Zedd's monster attacks weren't as frequent, she was still constantly thinking about what new advancement could help the rangers. "No worries."

"Cool." Avalon gave her sister a quick hug. "Let's get going, yeah? I'm sure that there's bound to be something more interesting going on at movie night or whatever they call it." She put her arm around Bailey's shoulder and the two started towards the door. "Wait. Do you want to walk or do you want to teleport?"

Bailey smiled. "Teleport of course."

Avalon dropped her arm from her sister's shoulder and raised her communicator to her face. Bailey pressed a button on the front of hers and disappeared in a flash of brilliant white light. Avalon lowered her communicator and walked over to the refrigerator and picked up the eviction notice once more. Holding it in the palm of her hand she concentrated hard as an orange-black glow appeared around her fingers. Her eyebrows scrunched together and the envelope burst into flames, burning at the edges and swooping to the far corner of the envelope where a stamp would be placed. As Avalon watched, the paper turned into a fine pile of dust which she blew away in a single breath. She watched the ashes snowflake to the floor and pressed the button on her communicator, teleporting to Trini's house. She arrived just as Bailey was slipping through the front door.

Avalon opened her stride and bounded up the porch steps, slipping in the front door after her. Trini grinned and closed the door behind her then turned to the older woman that was standing behind her. "Mom, these are my friends Avalon and Bailey Mitchell. Remember? The ones I told you about."

"Oh yes, I do remember," Mrs. Kwan replied with a warm smile. Avalon's fingers twitched at her sides, her palms suddenly flooding with sweat. She was nervous…about meeting a friend's parent. It was common knowledge that many adults didn't like her, as soon as they took one look at her they assumed she was going to steal something of theirs, which wasn't that far off, if she was completely honest. "It's very nice to finally meet both of you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Bailey said. Avalon smiled and nodded in agreement.

"How are you enjoying Angel Grove so far?" Mrs. Kwan asked. "The high school I mean." She glanced at her daughter, who nodded back at her. "Trini told me that the two of you have just recently transferred? Isn't it a bit difficult doing it in the middle of the school year?"

"It's not so much in the middle of the year," Avalon spoke up. "A couple months in and it was a bit difficult at first, especially considering we've lived here in Angel Grove for a while but just attended a different school." She motioned to Trini. "But Trini and the others have been really welcoming so it wasn't as difficult as it could have been." She shrugged. "No worries."

"And you're from…England, originally?" Mrs. Kwan asked. It wasn't an intrusive question, Avalon noticed. She was actually curious about it. She couldn't really explain it, but around Mrs. Kwan, Avalon and Bailey felt completely relaxed. It was the first time they had ever been around other people without a sense of having to be on edge. It was a welcome change.

"Australia, Mom, I've told you," Trini broke in.

"Yes, right." Mrs. Kwan smiled and nodded once more. "Well, I'll let you all go down and have some fun with your friends. My husband and I will be up here if you need anything." She patted Trini's shoulder and disappeared from the foyer.

"Thanks Mom," Trini said. She turned back to Avalon and Bailey as a comfortable silence fell around them.

It was the first time there was a comfortable silence. Avalon was usually very intimidating, from what she had seen since the orange ranger had transferred in. Trini knew a lot about people and their lives and knew that not everyone was going to be the nicest on the planet. But when she first met Avalon, she had a feeling that there was something off about her. Something about her aura was tainted, something she wasn't quite able to put her finger on. It was one of the reasons she had been a bit skeptical about Avalon joining their team in the first place, though she hid it well, knowing that they were going to need as much as they could get against Rita and Zedd. It was clear that she wanted to do things herself from the way she fought in battle to the times where she would show up at the end or not show up at all. She always had an excuse and apologized for it, though Trini didn't believe that she was being truthful about it. It wasn't until that day in the park where she and the rangers had explained their history to Avalon and Bailey that she noticed a shift in Avalon's demeanor; she was around a lot more, smiled and laughed a little more, and put herself in harm's way to help the other rangers.

Then she admitted that she thought of them as her friends, wanting them to be able to have a good homecoming dance while she went and fought Arieselle herself, before getting captured by Rita and Zedd. If that wasn't a way to show her that she wanted to change and to have people around her, she didn't know what was.

"I like your mom," Bailey said. "She seems really nice."

"She is," Trini agreed. "I'm glad you like her, she's always followed the thought that you should treat others the way you want to be treated." Fixing the yellow bow that held her hair up in a ponytail, Trini motioned towards a door just to the right of the staircase. "Everyone's downstairs, so just head on down. We already got a lot of food and stuff down there, we're just trying to decide on a movie to start out with."

"Ace." Avalon nudged Bailey's shoulder and the two took off their shoes, noticing the red, pink, blue, white, and black pairs of sneakers sitting by the front door, before heading downstairs. Trini followed them down, following close behind. "Um. Hey." She gave a short wave, lowering her hand after a second, frowning to herself.

"Hey!" Kimberly greeted them, lowering the Ping-Pong paddle that she was holding onto. She reached out and squeezed Tommy's arm before rounding the table and bounding over to the sisters. First, she leant over and gave Bailey a hug before wrapping he arms around Avalon. Avalon blinked for a few moments before bringing up her arms and patting Kimberly on the back. "Glad you could make it! We were just goofing off."

"Actually, _we_ were just winning ten to five," Zack corrected her, waving a Ping-Pong paddle back and forth between himself and Jason. Billy was sitting on the back of a nearby couch, his arms crossed over his chest, intently staring at the table. "You were trying to find any excuse that you could to keep us from playing."

"And people say you're not competitive, Zack," Kimberly said, rolling her eyes. Avalon smiled a little as Kimberly turned around and stuck her tongue out at Zack before skipping back over to the table.

"She's right, you know," Trini said. "She and Tommy could still beat you."

"I seriously doubt that," Jason disagreed. "They're too busy giving each other those cute looks that they think the rest of us don't see." Picking up the Ping-Pong ball, he smacked it with his paddle over towards Tommy, hitting him in the forehead with it. "Or if they're not too busy kissing on each other."

"Lay off, man," Tommy replied, smacking the ball back over him. He had a large smile on his face, though he looked a little nervous. He quickly glanced over at Kimberly before lowering his gaze. "Let's keeping playing, alright?"

"Alright." Jason picked up the ball again. He and Zack exchanged glances and he started up the game once more. As the ball traveled back and forth, Avalon went over to the table that had been set up to hold the food and drinks. Her eyes moved over the colorful selection of candy before stopping on a strange looking wrapper. Picking it up, she looked it over, studying the image of a ring on the front package.

"What's this?"

She hadn't realized that she asked the question out loud until she turned around and saw Billy, Trini, and Bailey all looking at her. The other four rangers were focused on their game, smiles on their faces but their eyes set in determination to win. Avalon started to walk over to them. Billy and Trini moved over to give her space on the couch and their hands brushed against each other's. Their eyes shot up and they looked at each other before Billy ducked his head and pulled his hand back, giving her a shy smile. Avalon glanced over at her sister, who seemed oblivious, chewing away at a chocolate-chip cookie.

"What's this?" She repeated, holding the packaging out to show Billy and Trini.

Trini took it and looked it over. "Oh! It's a ring pop!"

"A what?" Avalon's face screwed up in confusion.

"A ring pop," Trini repeated. With a kind smile, she opened it and slid the candy out into her palm. The colorful candy had been molded into the shape of a large gem sitting on top of a plastic ring, nestling the candy above the wearer's finger. "It's a ring. You put it on your finger like jewelry and you eat it."

If it as possible, Avalon's face screwed up even more. "Why would you want to want to eat a ring?"

Trini giggled lightly before handing it over to Avalon. "No. It's made out of candy, you're not eating an actual ring." She glanced at the wrapper. "Its watermelon flavored, try it." With gentle coaxing, Avalon took the ring and hesitantly stuck out her tongue, swiping the top part against the appendage. Smacking her lips, Avalon smiled, her dark eyes lighting up and a dimple appearing in her chin. "Wow, this is bonzer."

"You've never had a ring pop before?" Tommy gently pushed Kimberly back out of his way, using the full extension of his arm to drive the white ball back over the table to Jason and Zack. The red and black rangers scrambled to return the move, but the ball shot past them, bouncing along the ground. "Yeah!" Tommy reached over and he and Kimberly exchanged a high-five.

"Told you we could win," Kimberly provoked.

"You still have a ways to go," Zack reminded her. He tossed his head to the side in an easygoing manner, holding his arms out in a 'come at me' motion. "Don't go counting your chickens just yet."

"To answer your question, no, we haven't," Bailey spoke up, brushing cookie crumbs off of her blouse. "We don't have Ring Pops in Oz." She reached out a hand towards Avalon and she handed the candy over to Bailey. Her eyes lit up as she took a lick as well. "That _is_ good."

"Really? They don't?" Zack looked interested.

"What else is different in Australia?" Trini leaned forward to face the two girls. She was really curious about it. There were a lot of things that she had heard, but it was different seeing it first hand and just hearing what someone had to say about it. Who believed that they actually rode kangaroos to school? Gullible little kids usually, and they didn't sound particularly like Crocodile Dundee.

"There are a lot of things that are different there compared to here," Billy spoke up. "They're usually similar to English things as the British invaded Australia and drove out the aborigines. So being politically correct, while they are Australian, there is a little bit of British in them." He raised a finger. "The practice of driving on the other side of the road as well as the words they use for slang which can be very confusing to the equivalent of those in English are the main factors." He held up another finger. "They also don't tip in restaurants as the tip is immediately placed in the price of the meal as they believe that your good service is rewarded with a smile." He looked over at the Mitchell sisters for confirmation and they gave it, though he couldn't help but laugh, seeing that they appeared to be preoccupied with their new found sweet. "Though the biggest thing has to be that the weather patterns are flipped around. When its summer here, its winter there and when it's winter there, it's summer here."

"That must be, like, disappointing," Kimberly said. She dropped her paddle and moved to join the other rangers, the game now seeming to be forgotten at Billy's explanation. "Having to get used to the new weather patterns around here."

"No worries." Avalon dismissed her sentiment. "The surfing is a bit weak though, it doesn't rain here a lot and the best waves come with storms." She shrugged and leaned back, flipping her hair out of her face, using her left hand to pull it off of her neck. "So weren't we going to watch a movie or something?"

"Oh yeah, we have a few elections that we couldn't select between," Billy said. He reached behind him to pick a few VHSs off of the cushion. "We have…" he trailed off, his nose started to twitch. Closing his eyes, he turned his head before dropping the tapes and bringing his hands up to cover his mouth. "Achoo!"

"Whoa!"

As Billy sneezed, the soda bottles that had been sitting on the table all exploded, the caps leaping off and geysers of the liquid shoot towards the ceiling in waves. The rangers all shrieked and screamed and laughed, ducking for cover as it fell down around them. Avalon held up her arm and as the soda fell around her, it sizzled and burned away, leaving little trails of steam behind. Billy, eyes wide with shock, slowly crept out from behind the couch.

"Woops," he said weakly. "Sorry."

Zack, who was laughing, climbed out from underneath the Ping-Pong table. He clapped his hands together and surveyed the room. Soda was dripping off of every surface, drip-drip-dripping away. "Man, that's so cool! I wish I could do that."

"No, you don't," Avalon murmured, holding her hands above her clothes to dry them off. She then held them by her head and used the head to dry off her hair as well. She then waved her hands around Bailey, mimicking the same motions from before. Once she was dry, she then dried the rest of the room. "You never know when you'll be able to control it or not."

"Ask her about the curtains and the napkins and the towels she managed to catch on fire," Bailey added.

"Better then practically flooding your house," Billy returned. He glanced at his hands, turning it this way and that. "I can't even begin to understand what's happening or what's really going on with that cube." He frowned. "It just brings up more questions than answers and we never seem to be any closer to the solution."

Avalon gulped. She knew what that meant. He needed to speak to her father now more than ever, just to get an idea of where to begin. And there was only so much longer that she could put off having him get in contact with her father when she didn't even know where he was in the first place. Her own search narrowed it down to him being around the water as some of the officials at the government were able to tell her, otherwise they had hit the proverbial brick wall.

"Maybe it's all just a matter of pending more time on it and exhausting all of the possible and potentially impossible opportunities," Trini pointed out. She bobbed her head back and forth. "It's just as you said," she gave him a meaningful glance. "No scientist every completely gives up." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you ever need help, I'll be glad to do it."

It was the better option out of the older rangers, she was the only one that was bale to understand what it was that Billy was talking about on any given subject. Likewise, she was one of the few that he could stand working with; Zack fidgeted too much, Tommy seemed to have an unconvincing air of helplessness though he tried his hardest, Kimberly couldn't do much to mask her disdain with science, Avalon was a bit of a klutz, and Bailey he wanted to be able to use only particularly when he needed her, especially considering how young she was and how she was already working on their zords and weaponry. Besides, it was always better for the two of them to work together as they had a sort of connection that made things work smoother. Trini was definitely his first choice to have by his side in the Command Center.

"We all will," Kimberly said. "If there's any way that we can make sure that we don't have to worry about homeowner's insurance this early." She giggled at her own joke, even when no one else laughed. Her giggle turned to a gasp as there was a sudden gust of wind and when she blinked, Avalon was standing by the stairs with a roll of paper towels in her hand. "I don't know if this is going to be of any help, but I might do something." She took a step and then stopped. "What?"

"How'd you do that?" Tommy's eyes were wide.

"Oh, the running fast thing?" Avalon lightly hit herself on the forehead. "I guess I forgot to explain that. The fast speed thing, it's kind of like you're tapping into a backup of power." She twisted her mouth to the side, trying to find a good way to explain it. "You know when you're running and you're tired? Well, it's like going into your second wind, but everything around you moves slowly, while you're going at warp speed." She started to hand out the paper towels. "It can be pretty useful but hard to control at times."

"You should totally join the track team!" Zack said. "Or at least the cross country team, no one will be able to keep up with you and we'd win the titles for sure."

"Wouldn't that be cheating?" Bailey pointed out. She pressed a paper towel to the floor and brought it back up, managing to soak up a little bit of the leftover soda.

"No, it'd be strategy." Zack laughed again. Then his smile faded into a look of contempt as he started to work on the floor as well. "I mean, we're going to have a space open anyway, since my Dad wants me to join the football team." He shook his head, the sudden shift in his mood a warning not to dive any deeper in the subject. The rangers got to their knees and cleaned up the floor the best they could.

Avalon started out by trying to soak up the sticky sweet with the paper towels then following it up with drying the carpet. It seemed to work for the most part, but there were a few instances where the carpet seemed to mat together. Sitting back on her heels, she grimaced at the patch that she just dried. It looked crusty and unkempt compared to the other spots that she had just been working on. They were probably going to have to re-do the entire basement carpet. Hopefully the Kwans already had the plan to remodel or else it was going to become costly. She moved her arm to start to work on a different part of the floor, bumping into Jason as she did so.

"Sorry, mate," she apologized.

"S'alright," Jason muttered in reply.

Avalon lifted an eyebrow. "Ok, I know that you can be quiet and half the time it's like pulling teeth trying to get you to talk, but this is the quietest I've ever seen you." She held up a finger. "And while I thought that it would be a dream come true, not having to listen to a speech about friendship and teamwork and all that entails…what's up?"

"I was just thinking," Jason said. "You should try it sometime." Avalon's eyes narrowed into a glare. "I was just thinking about what Billy said, about not having any answers. By this point, I'm used to it. But with Zordon and Alpha not even knowing what's going on, it just worries me a little bit." He shrugged and went back to work.

Avalon studied him for a long time and with a start, realized that he was still running under the guise of being a leader. She had wondered how he really felt about Tommy being moved into that position when he had gained the white ranger powers. She listened closely to the other rangers when she heard of their past, watching each of their reactions at some points more than others. During the time she had been with the rangers she had grown accustomed to each of their personalities and the ways they carried themselves, probably more than they knew themselves. It was a habit from being a loner, she did a lot of people watching, a trait that was particularly useful for Chase and the others but was hard for her to break when she was around her family and friends. When they talked about Tommy being under Rita's spell, she saw the anger and guilt on Tommy's face, however when it came to him moving into being a leader, she got next to nothing out of Jason's. He had his sunny disposition but that serious look on his face.

At the time she thought he had been thinking about the fight with Rita and how badly he wanted to save Angel Grove, now she wasn't so sure. She was surprised to find herself speaking before she was aware of it. "If it helps, I'm sorry for what I said at the Youth Center about Tommy being the leader and everything. I guess you just caught me in a bad mood or something…"

Jason smiled at her.

Avalon hesitated before smiling back.

She went back to work, bending over, and her hair falling out of her face. At the sudden intake of breath, she looked up and saw Jason staring strangely at her. Her eyes widened when she realized that part of her bruising was showing. She could try to deny it, but that was a pointless knowing it was too big and colorful to mistake for something else. Instead, she moved her hair back into its position and pressed her lips into a firm line, her eyes narrowed in a glare, muttering a quick "fuck off," in addition. That was her 'back off' look, one that usually scared people away from coming close to her, the one she used to push people away. She expected Jason to bypass that and still question what could have caused such bad bruising, knowing it had to be from something else. They hadn't had any monster fights and she had even acted strangely at the youth center, anyone could see that something was wrong.

But to her surprise, he turned a blind eye to her.

And that alone made the smile return.

Jason wasn't stupid though. He knew what it looked like when you were hit; with which hand, the direct placement of the blow, and how hard the blow was. He had been training in martial arts long enough to know everything that he needed to know about fighting, bruises, and how to take care of them and from his guess, the bruise was fresh and had been iced a little bit, but was big enough that she wasn't able to completely cover it. He had been slightly suspicious of her when she had continued to show up late to fights with the rest of them, but thought nothing of it.

Now he knew there was definitely something going on.

* * *

 

Sitting in his lab later that night, Billy continued to stare at his hands, wondering what it was that made him able to use his powers perfectly at some points and not so well at others. After he had blown up the soda bottles and the rangers cleaned up the floor, they watched a few movies, deciding to watch a comedy film more than anything else. Especially considering the fact that Kimberly hated horror films—which Tommy only voted for because he would be able to comfort her—they fought for twenty minutes why they shouldn't watch a romance movie, then fought about why they shouldn't watch an action film, then decided to stick with the Nutty Professor. He had a lot of problems with it as a lot of the pot points and scientific methods were implausible, otherwise it was a fun film. The rangers all seemed to have a really good time, it being one of the first nights they've had to themselves in a long time.

When they were leaving, Billy made plans with Trini to go to the Command Center and work on some more experiments. He left her house with a bright smile and a spring in his step. Going in the direction of his, he found Avalon and Bailey going in the similar direction and walked along with them for a while. Their conversation was easy, him asking them more questions about Australia and he found that they really lit up when they were talking about their home. It was the most open that he had seen them since he had met them and that was a welcome change. Even that night he had seen a different, more open side with Avalon and found that her hysterical laughter to the 1963 movie, which she had never seen before, was contagious, making the others laugh as well. Once they reached the intersection that made them go their separate ways, Billy promised that he would walk with them to school that following Monday, surprised to find that he didn't want their conversation to end.

The he had gone straight into his garage after stopping to say 'hi' to his parents and picked up his notebook, getting back to work on the notes that he had been taking of his newfound powers. He had merely sneezed and he blew the soda bottles sky high. Little to no work there and even before, in his anger from having stubbed his toe on the bathroom cabinet, he slapped his hand on the sink and water came shooting out of the faucet, hitting him in the face. Both times he had felt a sense of the power in his body and seemed to tap into it a little bit.

 _What makes it easier at some times rather than others?_ He wrote underneath his other bullet points then flipped to a new page where a phone number was written down. Through his own deductive reasoning and search, he had found William Mitchell's phone number and had written it down as soon as he got the chance. Picking up his phone, Billy looked back and forth between the number to his phone, being sure that he was putting it in correctly, then brought it up to his ear, listening as it rang. It only rang for a few seconds before he was directed to an automated message.

_"I'm sorry this phone has been disconnected."_

Frowning, Billy hung up and dialed again, receiving the same message as before. He verified that the number was the same before putting down his phone and writing down another note. _Disconnected phone = number change?_ But then why would they not know about their father's number changing? "Or maybe he couldn't give out a working number if he had to go on a business meeting. Who knows who could be tapping into that sort of thing," Billy said to himself. He lifted his pen and tapped them against his teeth a few times before flipping to the printouts that he had gotten about William Mitchell. The man was well known and respected with his work with the government, though he couldn't get a lot of information about what he did specifically. Billy whistled to himself as he started to flip through the sheets of paper, skimming the information that he was given.

"Blah, blah, blah," Billy murmured his pale eyes moving over the pages. Some of the same words jumped out at him over and over again. Well respected. Hard working. Dedicated. It was one of the last few pages that something new caught Billy's eye. He blinked a couple of times before re-reading it out loud. "Williams is also well known in the community for his work with numerous charities and organizations. It seems to be a family affair as his wife, son, and daughter have been seen at these events as well." He lowered the pages. _Son and daughter? Maybe it's a typo._ Billy went back through the other articles and looked through them as well. All of them mention him having a son and daughter as well, not two daughters and Avalon and Bailey never mentioned having a brother.

Billy dropped the pages and leaned back, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes. There were a number of reason as to what was really going on. He could have lied to himself over and over and tried to make sense of it all in the better way, but it wouldn't be the truth. Someone, somewhere, was lying. And he would bet a million dollars that it wasn't the numerous media outlets and government funded pages.

But that just brought up the question if William really was out of the picture, if he wasn't Avalon's and Bailey's father, then why did Avalon say he was?


	19. Young Love

**Chapter 19**

_Young Love_

"And then you bake it in the oven for about forty-five minutes," Bailey murmured to herself.

She dragged her finger down the list of ingredients and the cooking time to double check herself then slid oven mitts over her hands. Carefully picking up the tray of cookies, she opened the over door and slid them inside. After carefully closing the oven door behind them, she took off her mitts and turned back to the counter. "Ok, now let's see what's going on with you." Avalon's Stegosaurus zord was walking along the exterior of the counter, making mechanical sounds each time it moved. She felt sorry for it, really. The fact that it was the only one out of all of the zords that couldn't get back to the strong form it original could. Now its commander was riding along in the triceratops zord, which may have worked out for the best as they were the two that had the new powers they were trying to work through. So far with the battles that they had gone through the past couple of weeks, Billy and Avalon had gotten a better grasp of it with a few slip-ups here and there. They were still no closer to figuring out what was causing it, however.

There were too many things that could factor into the Stegosaurus' new form. Rita's magic was the running idea, though that would be too easy. A malfunction of the zord? She wasn't' sure that was possible, Zordon and Alpha seemed to know the kinds of things that the zords were capable of and they hadn't mentioned anything about zords being able to change their size and structure. So what could it be?

Bailey gathered all of the ingredients that she had used for the cookies and replaced them in the pantry. She sighed, her movements echoing off of the empty walls of the pantry. That's where Avalon was at the moment, she was sure, getting more money for them. Sometimes Bailey wished that she was the older sister, or at least older so that she would be able to help Avalon out more, that way the responsibility wouldn't rest solely on her shoulders. Bailey couldn't help but watch her and see her sister as a sort of role model, along with Kimberly and Trini now that she had gotten to know them better, but her sister was still her sister and while she didn't always agree with her decisions, she was there to support her one hundred percent. Even if she had to keep quiet to do it. But how longer could she stay quiet? How much longer would she allow the disappointment to take her over when she would go back home from school and be greeted with an empty apartment? Then wait for hours for Avalon to get home? Not much longer, that was for sure.

Bailey turned back to the counter and picked up an item that looked like a magnet with a handle. Bailey turned it on its side and pressed a button. It made a whirring sound and the tips started to glow a light blue. Bailey held it in her palm and waved it over the Stegosaurus zord, waiting a few seconds for it to beep before turning it and bringing it up to her face. Her face became illuminated by the gentle light glow that came from the screen, giving her a more innocent look than she had since she and Avalon had been on their own. She regarded the screen, her eyebrows lowering as she did so. "Levels are normal, but…there's something else that's weird here…" Bailey picked up a notebook and jotted down a few notes. Tapping her chin with her pencil, she started to pace back and forth. "Rita's monster zapped you with this when Avalon was using your maximum amount of power to try and destroy the monster…so maybe…." Bailey's eyes widened and she let out a yelp, throwing her notebook into the air. "That's it! That's it!"

"What's it?"

Bailey whirled around to see Avalon walked into the kitchen, shrugging off her leather jacket. Bailey twisted her mouth to the side as she got a good look at her sister's face. The bruising had gone down a little, but it was still puffy and now a mixture of green and yellow as opposed to the blue, black, purple, and red that was there before. Thankfully she had spent more of her time hauled up in the apartment if not covering her face with makeup and ducking away between classes so their friends didn't get a good look and ask a million questions. Avalon dropped her jacket on the back of a chair at their dining room table, then dropped a wad of bills. Bailey's eyes widened as she took in the fat wad, just by looking at it, she had to guess that there was more than five hundred dollars in the stack.

Bailey noticed Avalon's eyes shift to the side before a warm smile slid onto her face. The orange ranger walked over to the counter and held out her hand, allowing her zord to run over and nestle into her palm. Bailey bounced up and down on her toes, holding onto Avalon's arm as she did so. "Av, Av, I figured out what happened with the zord." She reached over and picked up her notebook, starting to talk a mile a minute. "When your zord was taking in the power of Rita's magic, it was when you were trying to throw up all of its shields and use its power at the same time. But what was also going on was that you weren't holding all of the control that you had with it. And because your mind wasn't in the right place…which, by the way, I think that you may have some sort of a connection with your zord just like the others do and-"

"Belt up, Bay!" Avalon laughed, holding her hand over her sister's mouth. "God, you're being so agro over…like, _everything_."

"Ay!" Bailey's voice was muffled behind Avalon's hand.

Avalon slowly lowered her hand. "Now, just take a breath, and speak slowly. Give that a burl for once in your life." Bailey pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. Avalon laughed again causing Bailey to smile. It was the most carefree that she had seen her older sister in a long time. Bailey looked over at the money once more. Maybe it had to do with the fact that they weren't going to have to worry about financial matters for a while? Maybe. "Though I think you've got buckley's of that working out."

"Boofhead," Bailey murmured. She shook her head and took a deep breath. " _Anyway_ , I think I know what happened with Steggy here," she reached out and ran her finger along the zord's back, her fingers catching on the dulled, metallic spikes that protruded from the back. "When you guys were fighting Rita's monsters-"

"Yeah, Gemma and Nie." Avalon nodded.

"Well, you were using all of Steggy's powers at the time that you were trying to put the shields up, and attack the two monsters. They used some of Rita's magic to attack at that exact time, the result causing you to become ejected from your zord and for your zord to shrink." Bailey reached over and picked up her notebook, turning it around so that the figures and equations that she had been working on faced her sister. "So, the materialization of Rita's magic coalescing with the power of your zord, the dynamism of your safeguards, and the vigor of your attack, it kept Rita's magic from terminating your zord. Instead, it blustered out Steggy's power core and resulted in it becoming a miniature, weaker version of itself."

Avalon stared blankly at her sister. For all she knew, she could have just told her that hydrogen peroxide actually didn't burn your skin and she wouldn't have understood. It would have kept that one messy dye job when Avalon was fourteen from happening. "I knew you could get all scientific like Smurf when you get excited, and sometimes I'm even able to follow along with what you're saying, but this time…"

"Ok, let me try it like this,-"Bailey adopted the voice of a kindergarten teacher. She even gave a bright smile and widened her eyes for effect-"Rita's magic along with your power made Steggy lose control of its power and become miniature."

" _That_ I understood," Avalon said. She looked down at her zord and grinned. She raised a hand over her head and Bailey reached her hand up as well, giving her a high-five. "I knew that you were good for something. Seriously, Bay, this is totally perfect. I'm so proud of you!" Avalon reached out and gave her sister a hug. Bailey grinned back, the smile stretching across her whole face. Removing one hand, Avalon grabbed the wad of bills. Bailey noticed something, maybe anxiety, flash over her sister's face as she turned back to her, holding up the chunk of change. "Tell you what, you can decide what we do with this money after the bills are paid. Anything you want."

" _Anything_ I want?" Bailey repeated. "Well, now I have to think about it." She tapped her lips and turned back to the oven, bending over to look inside it. "I just made some cookies, so I don't really want that." Bailey turned back to Avalon with a winning smile. "I'll have to think about it. In the meantime, I need to get going to the Command Center so I can tell Billy what I found out."

"No worries," Avalon said quietly. Bailey glanced at her. There was something even weirder in her tone this time. _Oh well._ Bailey shrugged. No reason to dwell on it when there was a scientific breakthrough that needed to be shared. Bailey glanced at the timer then checked on the cookies in the oven once more. Seeing that they had turned a golden brown, Bailey grabbed the oven mitts and opened the door, pulling out the tray of cookies. Turning on her heel, she closed the oven door and placed the tray on the stove top. She turned off the oven and took off the mitts.

"I just have to wait for them to cool and then I'm outta here," Bailey said. Avalon nodded, but stayed quiet. That was odd, too. Avalon always had something to say about everything, even the way Bailey styled her hair. Now she wasn't saying a word and that scared her more than anything. Even knowing and being completely aware of how alone they were didn't scare her as much as Avalon's not saying anything. Bailey walked out of the kitchen and went to her room and grabbed a pair of shoes off of the ground. Lifting them up, she studied them in her hand.

They were black converse high-tops with green laces. _Mum's favorite color,_ Bailey thought as she gazed at the shoes. _She always said green was the color of the springtime, of flowers and great weather. Of the rolling hills that overlooked the beach. What would she saw if she saw us now? Would she care if she saw how we were living?_ Bailey closed her eyes and dropped her shoes to the floor, stepping into them and tying up the laces. She then walked out of her room and back to the kitchen. Avalon was sitting down at the head of the table, black rimmed glasses now on her face, and was sitting over a stack of mail.

Bills, probably.

Glancing over her shoulder, Bailey could see some large numbers and then glanced at the dollar bills that Avalon had fanned out in front of her. She quickly looked away, not wanting to think about it. Her head was already filled with problems no other twelve year old girl needed to think about, she didn't want to bog herself down anymore. Bailey went back to the oven and using a spatula, scraped the cookies off of the pan and onto a plate, then used plastic wrap to cover the plate. Bailey then turned back to her sister and smiled. "See ya later, Av!"

"Peace." Avalon held up her right hand, holding her fingers up in a peace sign. She didn't lift her head.

Bailey, balancing the plate of cookies on the palm of her hand, pressed a button on the side of her communicator and teleported to the Command Center. She stepped through the front doors and walked along the corridors, her footsteps echoing as she did so. They ended up chasing her down the hall as, in her excitement, her pace increased. Rounding a corner, he almost walked right into Alpha, who was coming her way.

"Oh, sorry mate, I didn't see you there," Bailey apologized.

"It's ok, Bailey, I wasn't minding my progress myself." Alpha reached out a hand patted her on the shoulder. He started to move by her, then took a glance at her face and went back. "Bailey, why are you so happy?"

"I figured out what's going on with Avalon's zord," Bailey said. She then explained what she had found out about Rita's magic, the zord's powers, and what had happened when the two combined. Alpha stood there and listened patiently, and asking questions when the time was right. Then she got to the part that she didn't tell Avalon, the part that was risky and could probably get all of their friends hurt or in even more danger than they already anticipated. "I think the only way that we're going to turn her back, and weaken hers and Zedd's power in general is if we destroy their wand and scepter. I mean, think about it; everything they ever do has come from their wand, sceptar or one of Rita's monster machines. If we get rid of all of those options, then we'll be able to level the playing field and keep Angel Grove safe!"

"Ay yi yi yi yi! That's amazing news, Bailey!" Alpha cried. He turned and held out his arm. "C'mon, we'll go tell Zordon, Billy, and Trini what you've found out."

Bailey's smile dropped a little. _Trini…_ Now that she thought about it, the two had been spending a lot of time together lately. Even when they had been at the party that Trini had thrown…she was nice, as was everyone else…but still, she and Billy did give each other smiles and she thought she saw them hold hands at one point. _Did they always spend that much time together or am I just noticing it? _Bailey chewed her thumbnail, her eyes started to turn hot. _Out of everyone they do seem to be better friends out of everyone else._ Alpha led Bailey into the area of the Command Center that held Zordon's power tube and the two walked inside.

A lump formed in Bailey's throat when she saw Billy and Trini sitting at a control panel, pouring over notebooks, beakers, vials, microscopes, and sheets of paper. Trini was saying something to Billy, her hand on his shoulder, leaning over his side and pointing into a notebook. Billy said something back and nodded and smiled. The lump in Bailey's throat got thicker and she looked at her feet, forcing her voice to come out normally. "Hey guys," She greeted the two of them.

"Hey!" Trini leaned away from Billy and smiled at Bailey. "How's it going?"

"Greetings, Bailey," Billy added. "What brings you here on this beautiful day?"

"Cookies," Bailey said, holding them out. She held the plate closer to her chest, lowering her gaze to it. "And, uh, just some things that I've been working on." She shrugged and walked over to a flat surface, dropping it down. "You know, with Avalon's zord and everything."

"And it's great," Alpha said. He held onto Bailey's arm and pulled her over to the blue and yellow rangers. Bailey kept her gaze down, suddenly unable to look at their faces. "She believes she found a way to return the Stegosaurus zord to its original form."

"I'm interested to hear your thoughts on that, Bailey," Zordon said. Billy and Trini got up from the chairs they were sitting on and joined the small group that had formed. "Is there anything that you can shed light on?"

Bailey swallowed thickly and nodded. She mustered up the best smile that she could, given the circumstances. "Well, I was thinking about the fact that Rita's magic was being used by Gemma and Nie when the zord was reduced in scale." She waved a hand. "Long story short, I think if we destroy Rita's and Zedd's wand and scepter we can defeat Rita and Zedd." Alpha then took over and explained everything that Bailey had come up with to lure out Rita and Zedd or else to occupy their monsters while some others would go in and try to steal the wand and scepter. It wasn't a complete plan, but it was something that they had to work with so they had a goal to accomplish.

"Wow, Bailey, I think that'll actually work," Trini said. Her eyes were shining with excitement as she glanced at Billy. Bailey followed her gaze and noticing Billy's smile, she felt a searing pain through her chest. Opening her mouth to take a breath, she could feel the lump moving further up her throat.

"I think so too," Billy said. He was already bent back over a notebook, scribbling furiously, trying to take down every word that had been said. "I think this may really work, of course a few kinks are going to have to be worked out, especially considering we don't know what the risks of this is going to be and we need everyone else's input, but still, this is amazing."

"I commend you on your intellect and your intuitiveness to help out the rangers, Bailey," Zordon said. Bailey gave a tiny smile, nodding. "You really are an asset to this team, you should always remember that. Without you, we wouldn't be able to get as far as we are now. You have proven your worth as well as shown us that there's a lot more that matters than age."

"Thank you, Zordon," Bailey said. She reached up a hand and scratched the back of her head. "Uh, well, I have to get going now." She sniffed loudly and rubbed her nose before pointing over at the plate. "You can have the cookies if you want, I thought that…you'd…like them."

Trini frowned and walked over to Bailey, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Bailey, are you ok?"

Bailey shook her head off and glanced at Billy. Now he was looking at her in concern. Bailey could feel her face turning red. She turned on her heel and hurried out of the Command Center before the tears started to fall. Bailey took a few quick breaths, wiping her cheeks as she went. What did she expect really? That her first crush was actually going to return her feelings? That being almost seven years older than her wasn't going to be a problem? She was such a boofhead!

"Bailey!" Bailey stopped waling and covered her face with her hands. Why didn't she just teleport when she had the chance? Hearing Billy call her again, Bailey wiped both hands over her face and sniffed loudly before turning around to see the blue ranger slow to a stop when he reached her. His light eyes trained on her in the utmost concern, his eyebrows lowered over his eyes. "Bailey, are you ok? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, Billy," Bailey replied. She gave a shaky smile and pointed at her face. "See? I'm ok."

"Then why are you crying?" Billy pressed. He gave a confused smile. "You just came up with the biggest breakthrough any of us could have come up with and-"

"You mean the best thing that you or Trini could have come up with?" Bailey mumbled. Billy closed his mouth and ran a hand through his hair, nodding slowly. He looked like he wanted to say something, but was unsure about how to do bring it up. He then twisted his mouth to the side and let out a heavy breath through his nose. "Billy…do you like me?"

Billy gave her another smile. "Of course I like you, Bails, I-"

"No." Bailey shook her head. "Do you… _like_ -like me? Like…a guy likes a girl?" She gently chewed her lower lip as she waited for Billy's answer, afraid to look him in the eye.

Billy hesitated before replying.

He wasn't sure about how many things between boys and girls worked as he hadn't been in a relationship before. But he knew the chemical makeup and the genetic reactions that caused crushes and he knew how hurt people could become when things didn't go out the way they wanted them to. Billy really enjoyed having her around, having someone else that was just as bright as he was as well as her being so young helped inspire him in ways that she didn't know. She was like the little brother or sister he wished he could have. Being an only child got lonely a lot, which was why he was so glad to have become friend with Jason, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly when they were younger. He finally had someone to hang out with. He became great friends with Trini when she made the effort to understand what he was trying to say, but his and Bailey's relationship was different. He didn't have to try and dumb things down when they were talking and she was just as enthusiastic about making new inventions and working on the zords as he was.

If she wasn't six years younger than him…things might have been different.

"Bailey, I do like you…but you're too young for me," Billy said. "And…you're like a sister to me. I like to have you around and I like to talk to you. It's just-"

"That's ok," Bailey said quickly. She could feel her heart shattering into a million pieces with each word that had continued to come out of the blue ranger's mouth. He was a ranger and she was a technical advisor. He was eighteen and she was twelve. He was a man and she was…a girl. A little girl. Bailey pressed her lips together, her stomach falling to her feet. "I understand. I'm…just going to go home."

"Are you ok?" Billy pressed.

"I will be," Bailey said.

She gave him a half smile and teleported out of the Command Center, landing in the park. She didn't want to go to the apartment, not yet, not when there would be more questions that would be asked. She didn't even want to think about it now. She asked if Billy liked her…how humiliating. What was she even thinking? Why would she think that someone as cool as him would want to go out with someone as dorky as her? Not when Trini was by his side. She was really cool, really mature, and always knew what to say and how to help her friends. And here Bailey was, the little sister that tagged along with all of the rangers, being hauled up in the Command Center to help them out from time to time. How did she ever manage to convince herself otherwise?

"Did you lose your best friend or did a science experiment blow up in your face?" Fred asked, appearing at Bailey side, matching her stride. Bailey looked at him, her dark eyes flashing. "Sorry, I was just trying to make you laugh or something."

"I'm not in the mood to laugh," Bailey mumbled. She shrugged apologetically. "Nice try, though. The idea of a science experiment blowing up in my face that could potentially cause me to mutate is a funny thought, just not enough to actually get a laugh."

"No, what'll get a laugh is if you watch me dance," Fred said. He rolled his eyes. "Mom tried to get me to do cotillions and stuff, she's still trying really. That would make you laugh for days." He pulled his hat off of his head and ran a hand through his hair before replacing his hat. "She won't take 'no' for an answer though."

Bailey studied him, he turned to her and smiled, causing his freckles to spread across his cheeks. Bailey gave a hesitant smile back. If he had noticed she had been crying before, he didn't make any note of it. That made her feel a little better. She didn't think it would ever stop hurting, though. The humiliation was too much to bare. "Well, maybe your Mom will let you do something else." She kicked up a cloud of dirt as they continued along the path, wandering through the park. "I mean, I'm taking martial arts lessons with Jason and Tommy and I'm surprised that my sister, er"—Bailey closed her eyes—"my _mum_ would allow me to do it."

"You're taking the classes with Tommy?" Fred repeated. "Tommy Oliver? I've seen him in tournaments and stuff, he's really good. He's like, my idol."

"That's kinda creepy," Bailey admitted.

"Seriously, he's that good," Fred repeated.

"Well, maybe you'd like to come with me sometime or something." Bailey sniffed. "And you can see how the classes are." Fred jumped in front of her and held out his hand. Bailey looked down at his hand and then up at Fred again. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to make a deal," he said, looking Bailey right in her bloodshot, chocolate brown eyes. "I'll go with your to your martial arts lessons if you agree to be my partner at the science fair." He raised his eyebrows. "Deal?"

He was sure that she would go for it. Though she hadn't been at the middle school for long, he couldn't help but notice her the first time that she had arrived at class. He had been going to school with the same classmates for years so one new student would be easy to spot. Her intelligence was what blew him away, the fact that she wasn't afraid to show how much she knew compared to the other girls in his class that didn't seem to have the same drive was refreshing. Not that he didn't like his classmates, they were cool, but she was different in a way that wasn't obvious. Even though she didn't have a lot of friends herself she always had a smile on her face and was willing to help out anyone who asked, even a teacher. Now he wondered why he had waited so long to talk to her, she was definitely as interesting as he originally thought.

Bailey rolled her eyes at the charming smile Fred threw her way and chuckled. She sniffled and placed her hand in his, giving it a firm shake. "Deal."

Fred smiled at her.

Bailey smiled back.

* * *

 

Avalon sang along with the Nirvana album that was playing from her speakers as she signed off the last check that would be used for bills. After enclosing the envelope and licking it shut, she set it aside with the others that would be sent off. Looking at the wad that was left, a little over four hundred dollars, she stared at it, thinking that she could put a small payment down on what they needed to pay to stay in the apartment. It wasn't long since they had gotten the eviction notice and she knew paying some of it now wasn't going to help them. Not with how many months' rent they had already missed. It was going to get a lot harder than things were going to get easier. How were they going to ration the money that she would get from pawning off stuff? The rent for the apartment was pretty steep as it was and she was having trouble keeping up with the gang anyway. After promising Craig she would be around more, she was already starting to juggle more of her time between the two.

Maybe she would take Bailey's advice and actually get a job. That way they could have more money going in and she would actually have an excuse to use if something ever came up. Avalon rolled her eyes, her feet tapping to the beat of the music. _Yeah, Av, like Chase will ever agree to you bailing because you have to pick up a work shift. Better yet, why don't you ask Rita and Zedd to hold off on an attack until I get my paycheck?_ Avalon leaned forward and rested her forehead in her hands. She stared at the money in front of her and started to smile. Who cares? At the moment, she and Bailey had money for food and whatever they wanted in their price range. The first time in a long time.

What could get better than that?

"With the lights out, it's less dangerous," she sang along to _Smells like Teen_ Spirit, pushing back her chair to stand up. "Here we are now, entertain us. I feel stupid and contagious. Here we are now, entertain us. A mulatto. An albino. A mosquito. My libido, yeah!" She turned around and her voice trailed away to a whisper when she noticed Jason and Kimberly standing behind her, both with impressed smiles on their faces. Avalon went over to the speakers and turned off the CD, allowing it to be spat out into her hand.

"Don't stop on our account," Jason protested, holding up his hands. His smile widened. "That was really good. _You're_ really good." He took a long look at her face. "Nice glasses," he added.

"Really," Kimberly added. "Black-rimmed, very retro, but you pull them off perfectly."

Avalon shrugged modestly, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I'm decent," she said modestly then fumbled with her glasses, pushing them up the bridge of her nose. Her dark eyes shifted behind her glasses then her confident demeanor came back as she placed her hands on her hips. Her dark eyes now flashed with challenge and amusement. "So did you bribe the doorman or break in here?"

"You left your jacket at Trini's place," Kimberly explained. She pulled her arms out from behind her back, holding onto a black jean jacket. "I had spent the night after the party and I've been meaning to give it back, but I've been kind of busy." She turned to Jason, who started to snicker. "I have a life outside of Tommy, Jase, stop teasing me!" Jason threw his head back and laughed as Avalon snickered.

Kimberly laughed a little as well, used to the teasing. She could see how the others may have been a little annoyed by it as well, if she was being honest with herself. She did see Tommy every day at school and then after school with whatever activity or club or organization they were in, and they fought alongside each other when it came to fighting Rita's and Zedd's monsters, and then they had to schedule their own dates and alone time with him when they got the chance. But she lived for those moments when they could be alone, when they didn't have to be superheroes and save people. When they could forget about being teenagers and just enjoy each other's company for as long as they could. It was their only time where they could forget about everything around them and just focus on each other and being in that moment.

"Ok, ok, we'll stop teasing Kimberly for now," Jason said, flashing Avalon a wink.

Avalon's face screwed up in confusion then her eyebrows rose. A mocking smile slid onto her face. "Something tells me that you're just jealous that _you_ don't have a girlfriend." She reached out and poked him in the chest. Her eyes dipped down and she pulled her finger back, the confused expression returning when he didn't move an inch. Wow. He really was that buff. Impressive.

Jason gave a good-natured grin. "It'd be really cool to have a girlfriend," he mused. "To break off into boyfriend and girlfriend to do things together." He bobbed his head back and forth then leveled his eyes at Avalon once more. "If she came along," he drawled. "I would snatch her up…if she wanted to be had."

Avalon held up a finger. "Girls aren't 'things to be had' as you so eloquently put it, Rudolph," She said. She then held up another finger. "And two, I don't see you getting many offers, mate," she added.

"Clearly you don't pay attention," he lobbed back.

"Clearly I don't like chundering," she replied and when seeing the glance Kimberly and Jason exchanged, she explained. "Slang for vomit."

"Ew!" Kimberly's nose scrunched up. "Guys, that's, like, so totally gross." She motioned over to Jason. "I'd expect it from him and Zack, but Avalon?"

Avalon shrugged, giving off an air of arrogance. "What can I say? I'm a mystery." She gave a small smile, causing the red and pink rangers to smile as well.

As far as they were concerned, her being a mystery was an understatement. If there was a word that was stronger than mystery, enigma even, that would be it. One moment she acted like their friend, the next she could be as cold and standoffish as anyone you could meet on the street. Sometimes she would be ready and willing to lead the charge in a fight against Rita's monster, the next she would make some excuse and not show up. She ran hot and cold to the point that they could tell which one was the one that would appear by judging her mood when they first saw her. If she joked around, like she had that day, then she would be more open. If she gave short answers, then she would go back to her secretive self.

Jason hoped that at that point they would have really shown her that they were a team and that they had her back, so he was glad that it was getting easier and easier. Just by joking around with her right then, he didn't sense a feeling of hostility behind her words. Not even when she mockingly called him Rudolph, which she seemed to insist on more and more as the days went on. Sure, she called the other rangers their nicknames, Smurf (Billy), Pinkerbel (Kimberly), Sunny (Trini), Twinkle-Toes (Zack), and Tommo (Tommy) it wasn't to the same extent that he was likened to that of a flying reindeer with a flashlight for a nose. Jason's eyes started to move around the apartment. It was the first time they had been there since they had met and he couldn't help but notice it didn't feel like a home. There weren't any pictures around that he could see, the furniture looked like to be what was there when they moved in. Sure, there was a TV a computer, and drapes and blinds, but it felt cool to be there.

Cold.

Like no one actually lived there.

"So where are your Mom and Dad?" He started to pace, taking in every square inch of the apartment. "I hope we didn't drop in at a bad time."

"Out," Avalon said quickly. _Give a big more than that, Av._ She immediately went back to survival mode. Any way to answer their question, gauge their reaction, and expand on that was the way to go. She was a people watcher and knew everyone's ticks. She knew that Kimberly twirled her hair around her finger when she was thinking, she knew that Jason crossed his arms over his chest in a way to subconsciously stand his ground, showing people that he shouldn't be messed with. He cracked his knuckles when he was nervous and Kimberly cracked her gum when she was worried. "They went grocery shopping," she added smoothly, seeing Jason move closer to the kitchen. She looked down and started to flip the Nirvana CD in her hands. "I was just…goofing around."

'With a voice like that, how's that goofing around?" Kimberly crossed the room to Avalon and grabbed onto her forearms. She beamed and bounced on her toes. "You have an _amazing_ voice, Av. How come we didn't know?"

"Don't call me Av," Avalon said. It was an autopilot reaction now. After telling Billy that he could call her that, everyone else adopted it and, for some reason, it actually got on her nerves. She liked people giving her unique names, not getting stuck on the most generic one anyone could come up with. It didn't take a rocket scientist to come up with Av. "And…" She shrugged, letting out a short sigh, her gaze moving to her feet. "I guess…I don't….like people hearing me sing," she mumbled.

Kimberly's eyes widened. Not want people hear her sing? If she had a voice like that, she would work harder with her music. It was really good, natural sounding, kinda throaty, definitely had power behind it, but wasn't trying too hard to be something it wasn't. The fact she was singing a rock song worked well, too. Kimberly tried to keep a straight face as she thought about Avalon singing a pop song or a country song. The image and the music just didn't go together. "Why not? You're so good." Kimberly regarded her. "You have stage fright?" she guessed. Avalon looked at her. "You?"

"Hard to believe, right?" Avalon rolled her eyes. "I speak my mind and I'll let you know if you're a jerk, but I can't sing in front of other people." She raised and lowered her right shoulder in a shrug. "I don't like a lot of attention on me." She then gave an over the top smile that made her dark eyes light up. "And unlike you happy-perky-cheerleader types, being so open isn't my mode of oper-a-tion!" She even did a few exaggerated cheerleading moves with her arms to mock Kimberly.

"That's Miss. Happy-Perky-Cheerleader to you," Kimberly said, lightly shoving Avalon the arm. Avalon laughed. "Anyway, we have to go, thanks for inviting us in."

Avalon smirked. "I didn't invite you in, you broke in. I could have you arrested you know. Don't think I won't." She wouldn't do it. Not when so many things could, admittedly, be traced back to her. There was too much stuff around the apartment that they could find that would raise a lot of questions. Question to which she either didn't have an answer to, or hadn't thought about enough to create answers.

Kimberly leaned forward and gave Avalon a hug. This time, the orange ranger hesitated a second before hugging her back. Jason, who had come back from the kitchen, tore his eyes away from the empty walls and trained his eyes on Avalon. Avalon looked up from the magazines she started to clean up, suddenly embarrassed by the mess. Which was strange as she never particularly cared about it before. When she noticed Jason staring at her, her upper lip curled.

"What?" she practically spat.

"I was just wondering what happened to your face," Jason said slowly. He gave her a look that said, 'you can't fool me, I know what happened'. Avalon narrowed her eyes back at him but didn't say anything. She took her time to come up with a reasonable explanation before she allowed her paranoia and suspicion to take over. They were her friends now, why did she need to be suspicious?

Avalon smirked at him, her eyebrows ticking. "Funny, I was wondering what happened to yours." Kimberly giggled as Avalon raised a hand and touched the side of her face. "This…" she waved a hand, dismissing it. If she downplayed it, maybe they would finally leave her alone about it. "It's nothing. It doesn't even hurt."

"Looks pretty bad though," Kimberly commented. She looked over at Jason's face and realized how serious the situation was. None of them had gotten hurt that badly while in a monster fight and if that were the case, why was she the only that had such bad bruising.

"Yeah, well…" Avalon trailed off once more. She rolled up the magazines and started towards the trashcan. Jason's words stopped her in her tracks.

"If someone did that you to," he said. "You didn't deserve it."

Avalon gave a low, dark chuckle. Tossing the magazines away, she missed the concerned look that Kimberly and Jason exchanged then turned back to the red and pink rangers, her arms crossed over her chest. "Fact of the matter is, I did."


	20. All My Best Friends Are Metalheads

**Chapter 20**

_All My Best Friends Are Metalheads_

"Ok, this is the plan," Chase said under his breath. He looked over his shoulder then back at his companions as they crouched along with him in the bushes. He spun a switchblade in his hands, spinning it in his palm hypnotizing Skye, Summer, and Avalon as they waited for his instructions. "They're going to be closing in ten minutes so there's bound to be no one in there except for the cashier and the manager, everyone else should have gone home by now."

"Got it," Skye murmured. He slapped himself on the chest. "Avalon and I will man the doors, making sure no one gets in and gets out, you and Skye will go up directly to the counter and everything will happen from there."

Avalon nodded along with the others. She looked around the bush, watching as a car slowly rolled down the road by the KFC. She continued to watch as it went to the end of the street and turned the corner. Her eyes traveled down to her watch, landing on the tattoo that sat directly on the inside of her wrist. Her Initiation into the gang after her jump in. to prove her loyalty she had to go and get the 'tag' of the gang, their calling card, just as the mocking bird was for the Hi-Flyers. Moving her lower jaw to the side, Avalon ran her fingers over the black ink that was permanently emblazed into her skin. It had given her a family and people that she could rely on to get things done, it gave her money, it kept her and her sister fed, it gave them clothes, it gave them food, it gave them protection. And yet…she still couldn't bring herself to acknowledge that it was a big part of her life that she either needed to devote all of her time to or to cut off completely.

It had been a part of her and her life in LA for a long time and she knew she wouldn't survive if she expressed her want to leave. Especially when Chase had nearly busted her face in when it came to his frustration over her not being there for more of their hits, gang fights, drug runs, and meetings. She had basically shot herself in the foot when Jason had asked where she had gotten the bruises and said she didn't deserve it. True to her impulsive nature, she thought she would get him off her back by saying that she did deserve it, which was the truth. Then that started the strange looks, she was sure that he thought she had a boyfriend that was beating her or that her father was beating her or something, and was momentarily surprised day after day that CPS didn't come to their apartment to ask about it. However, it seemed like the conversation was dropped and he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Pinky, you ready?"

Avalon scowled as she turned back to Chase. "Why do you keep asking me that?" She demanded, frustrated. "I thought I already proved to you that I was in this whenever you guys needed me to be." Frustrated, she slapped the ground. "And I _have_ proven that, so stop undermining me and questioning my loyalty."

Chase slowly started to smile, causing Skye and Summer to exchange glances before smiling a well. That was all he needed to hear, to know that no matter what happened, no matter what he threw them into, he had everyone that he needed to be able to get his work done. His life was the gang and the gang was his life. In reality, he had a sad and broken life, his mother was an alcoholic and his father and brother had been raised in the gang, both were currently in jail, it was inevitable that he would have been brought into it as well.

"Take this." Chase reached out a hand towards Avalon. She reached hers out and he placed a pistol into her hand. "If anyone comes our way, keep them out of the restaurant." He licked his lips, looking around the area outside of the food chain. "We need to get the stuff from these places for a while the cops continue to run patrols through the rich neighborhoods." Avalon nodded, shoving the gun into her jacket pocket. "Let's go." Chase rolled out of the bushes and the others followed him. They kept their heads low and walked over to the restaurant.

Avalon held open the door and waited for Summer and Chase to slip inside before she and Skye manned the doors. Avalon gripped the pistol in her pocket, her eyes shifting back and forth as the two walked up to the counter as casually as possible. Skye manned the other door to the restaurant and pressed his back to it, waiting as well. Avalon slouched her shoulders, taking on an appearance of nonchalance as well, her hand brushing her power morpher. Once again, which seemed to becoming more frequent than ever, a rocket of guilt flushed through her body. Day after day she had worked both parts of her life to keep each side happy; going to school, hanging out with her friends, working with clubs, and fighting whatever monster it was that was released that day then she went out with Chase, Skye, and Summer. It was helpful that for their Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks the rangers all went their separate ways to be able to have vacations with their families that meant she could work with the Vipers as much as she needed to and not have to worry about being called back for whatever reason.

And during that time she had managed to get a good grasp on her new powers. Working out was that much easier so she waited until the gym was nearly empty before she would stack on the weights and keep going, cooking food became a lot easier as all she had to do was hold it up over her hand or create flames herself, and she and Bailey had gone to the Command Center to get more tests done and as Bailey had figured, they were getting that much closer to figuring out the origin of Avalon's power. It was only a matter of time before they figure out what it really was and they could use it to defeat Rita's and Zedd's hordes of monsters. Though their horoscope monsters were the strongest ones they could use, they had, interestingly enough, held back on the other eleven and had given the rangers weaker monsters to fight.

 _Just be glad Alpha and Zordon haven't forcibly taken you away from these things again,_ Avalon thought. _That would be even harder to explain._ Avalon ran her fingers over the power coin, feeling that familiar surge of power as she did so. It wasn't that she didn't like being a ranger, she enjoyed it a lot and knew that the responsibility thrust upon her shouldn't be taken lightly, but there were times where she still wondered what it was that made them want her. Why would they want an active gang member that did bad things all the time to save the world? Did they really like having her make a choice all the time? The mental exhaustion from it made her have many restless nights, lying awake and staring at the ceiling, questioning over and over what it was about her that made her different.

Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy, Kimberly, and Tommy clearly didn't have any problems trying to figure out right from wrong. But maybe that was the whole point. Maybe they saw things as black and white and she saw things as grey and they were supposed to teach each other how to do that. Maybe if she came clean and told them what was going on it would stop the constant questions and they would understand that she was just trying to keep her sister safe and to provide for her in a way that their parents never could. _But would they really understand?_ She shook her head, frowning a little. _Of course they would, they're your friends._

And they really were her friends. Over their breaks from school, even studying for their exams, Avalon had finally come to the point where she did call the rangers her friends, maybe even best friends. She helped Billy in the lab as often as he did and walked to and from school with him, the two had grown very close, close enough that she considered him her best friend. She, Kimberly, and Trini went to the mall, had sleepovers, and worked in the Big Sister program after school, Zack suggested that she try out for the track team as tryouts were coming up that spring and his father still wanted him to play for the football team, she and Tommy were always joking around with each other, and she made fun of Jason, though she did have a sense of respect for him, though she wasn't exactly sure why. After a bunch of his side comments she agreed to take one martial arts lesson from him and they ended up sparring. Once again, he beat her, and since then she didn't get as short with him as she used to. The group hung out together as much as they could, bringing in Bailey in as well. She was progressing with her martial arts training with Jason and Tommy and was helping Billy, Alpha, and Zordon with their zords and weaponry. Due to Rita's magic on the stegosaurus zord the only solution to fix it would be to destroy their wands and scepter so as it stood, Avalon was still co-piloting the Triceratops zord, which bring a lot of trust between her and Billy.

 _Still, I don't think they'd be able to handle this big bombshell,_ Avalon thought. She watched as Chase said something to the cashier and Summer leapt forward, grabbing onto the cashier by the front of the shirt, bringing him forward over the counter. Chase then pressed the switchblade to the cashier's throat, the tip a few inches from where the jugular was. From where she was standing, Avalon could see the cashier's face turn pale white and he started to plead for mercy.

"Don't hurt me! Please, please, take whatever you want."

In that moment, Avalon found herself taking a step forward. She started to reach a hand up, to say something, to stop Chase from hurting him. She didn't want to see someone else get hurt just for the money that they wanted to have, they _needed_ to have. She heard Skye clear his throat and she glanced over at him, he was glaring at her, shaking his head. Avalon dropped her arm and stood a step back, resting against the door once more. She closed her eyes, tilting her head back so her face was directed towards the ceiling. _Now would be a good time to get teleported out of here._ Her eyes snapped open when she felt a hand clamp down on her arm and she was dragged out of the restaurant. Her body snapped into flight mode then, the familiar feeling of adrenaline running through her veins and her feet pounding against the pavement as they ran off down the street as far as they could.

They didn't stop until they reached their warehouse and darted inside, taking time to catch their breath. Chase let out a loud bark of laughter, pacing in a large circle. Summer threw her hands over her head and cheered. Avalon nodded and gave a half smile, high-fiving Skye when he came around to her. Avalon soon found herself laughing and cheering as well as the adrenaline continued to course through her veins. Chase threw the money that they had managed to grab up into the air and the four of them continued to run around, shrieking and congratulating each other. Once they finally managed to calm down, Chase counted out the money and found they had managed to grab almost one thousand dollars, which would be equally split four ways.

Avalon looked at her watch as it started to beep and she pressed a button on the side, heading towards the door. She scooped her backpack up off the ground, took off her leather jacket, replaced it with a black jean jacket, and gave a peace sign to the rest of her gang members. Summer skipped over to Avalon and squealed, wrapping her arms around her shoulders. It was funny how much Summer reminded her of Kimberly, though their lives were drastically different. Summer lived with a crack-head stepfather and a mother who turned a blind eye to her step father's antics compared to Kimberly who had a loving mother, a nice home, and a nice life.

"Girl, where are you going?" She demanded; her eyes were shining brightly, almost as if they were diamonds. Avalon could practically see the dollar bill signs flashing through her eyes. Sadly, it was the happiest that Avalon had ever seen her. "We have to celebrate. This is one of the biggest hauls that we've ever gotten."

"And I'm going to have to celebrate later," Avalon said with a light laugh. She couldn't help it, she was giddy. It would keep her and Bailey's heads afloat that much longer. Another eviction notice had come up and she was trying to figure out when would be a good time to try and appeal it so they wouldn't get kicked out before she figured out an alternative housing plan. She was _not_ going to bring Bailey to live at the warehouse and they weren't going back to that homeless shelter. Besides, Bailey was doing very well in school and she had some good friends, taking her out of a stable home and into a homeless shelter would probably crush her and bring that crashing back down as well.

"I have to go to school. First day back, yeah?"

Avalon gave another peace sign, promising she would be back later to plan their next move as well as to get her cut of the money and walked out of the warehouse. Along the way, she took her phone out of her pocket. She brought her Bailey's phone number, having bought her one as a Christmas gift, that Bailey literally freaked out about, and sent her a text, hoping she'd be awake.

 **Avalon:** Hope you're awake. Just get some cereal or whatever for breakfast and go to the Cranston's' place. Billy'll walk you to school and I'll see you later.

It took a few minutes to get a reply.

 **Bailey:** Ok. See you later, Av.

Simple as that, see you later, Av. And yet, through that text, Avalon could sense the begrudging acceptance that Bailey had been projecting which she had been since Avalon first told her about the gang that she had joined. Bailey had been so young then, she didn't understand what being in a gang entailed and when Avalon had told her, she was rightfully scared and mad, wondering how she could get herself into something like that. However, Avalon had put her foot down and told her that she was doing it to help them and that she would do her best to keep the danger from her sister and to keep the lives totally separate. Bailey had agreed to it; though let it be known she wasn't fond of either idea. That was the promise that Avalon had made though, to her little sister, and she wasn't going to break that promise, no matter how difficult things got.

Avalon stopped at Starbucks and got an espresso before going to Angel Grove high. She was a little later than usual, but she found the other rangers by the locker bay as she thought they would be. Zack was explaining something to them and demonstrating a few dance moves as he did so. Avalon clutched her Espresso tighter in her hand as she approached, squeezing between Billy and Tommy, her obvious height difference, being the shortest at five feet even, made the others laugh when they spotted her.

"I'm not in the mood for short jokes today," she warned her Australian accent thick with sleep. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, exhaustion started to settle over her body. She had been up for hours and the hit that they had just done on the restaurant had taken more out of her than she expected. "Not unless you want your ass kicked, yeah?"

"Don't worry Av," Zack reassured her, pausing in his dance steps long enough for him to put his hand on her shoulder. "We don't want your _short_ temper to rear its ugly head again." He laughed and backed away as Avalon reached out to smack him on the arm, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up." Avalon opened her locker door to put her backpack inside and her eyes lit up as she noticed a Ring Pop sitting on the top shelf of her locker, taped in place so it would be seen. "Ace! A ring pop!" She ripped it off the shelf and immediately opened it, shoving the candy into her mouth before gathering her books and turning to face the other rangers who were laughing at her again. "What? Am I just a side show to you guys?"

"I've just never seen anyone get so excited over candy before," Jason said, reaching out a hand and pushing her locker door shut.

"Yeah, well, I've never seen anyone get excited over you either, but I'm not pointing that out for everyone to know." Avalon's eyes widened in feigned innocence. "Woops, sorry, I guess I just did." She tilted her head, smirking at him.

Jason laughed quietly, resting his arm on the locker bay by her head. His other hand tightened their grip on his backpack strap. "Really feeling the love, Av, thanks."

"Don't call me Av."

Jason shouldered his backpack and turned his glance to the Ring Pop wrapper that was sitting on the floor by Avalon's feet. "So where'd the Ring Pop come from?"

"Dunno." Avalon shrugged, her cheek bulging from the candy sitting in the corner of her mouth. She looked like a little kid as she continued to eat it. "I just opened my locker door and it was sitting right there in front of my face."

"It shouldn't have been complex," Billy remarked, holding a hand up to his shoulder level. "Considering how vertically challenged you are." Avalon stuck her tongue out at the blue ranger then moved the Ring Pop to the other side of her mouth.

"Looks like someone has a secret admirer," Trini sing-songed, putting an arm around Kimberly's shoulders. She tilted her head down, resting her head on top of Kimberly's and the two smiled at each other. "Isn't that so cute?" Kimberly nodded in approval, "yeah, I wish someone would leave me gifts in my locker."

"Just wait for Valentine's Day, Kim," Tommy said, giving his girlfriend a bright smile. Kimberly let out a slight shriek, bouncing up on her toes and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, you mean you're going to call me _again_ and ask what Kim would want as a present, what kind of chocolates she likes, what kind of flowers she likes, and…" Jason pretended to think, placing a finger to his chin. "Oh! What restaurant to bring her to." He leaned over to Kimberly and pretended to stage-whisper. "Last Valentine's day, you should be thanking me for that."

"Whatever!" Tommy playfully shoved Jason's shoulder as the group started laughing again.

"Don't you think that we should be focusing more on school first?" Billy asked, as innocent as ever. He gave a half smile, the corner of his mouth lifting up, his eyes shining. "We just got back, we still have to show Ms. Appleby the projects that we've been doing,"—at this Tommy let out a groan and Jason rolled his eyes, although he had a warm smile on his face—"and we need to think about our final exams at the end of the year…"

"Billy, relax, it's only January," Trini reassured him. "We have plenty of time to be able to get our work done."

"You say that now and next thing you know I'm advancing to higher learning and you all are left here." Billy shrugged. "Don't worry; I'll remember to mention you all in my valedictorian speech." That sent out another round of laughter through the power rangers.

"Cheers, Smurf," Avalon lifted her coffee. "That really makes us feel loved, mate." Billy laughed and reached out a hand, ruffling Avalon's hair. As he reached his hand out, Avalon flinched and turned her head to the side, slamming her eyes shut. Her shoulders moved up to her ears and her heart started to thud against her chest. When she didn't feel a slap of a hand against her skin, no eruption of pain, no tears, no feeling of vengeance burst through her body.

Nothing.

Avalon slowly opened her eyes and saw everyone looking at her funny, she saw the worried looks they exchanged and the confusion that was directed her way. Avalon gave a half laugh, glancing at her coffee cup. "Probably shouldn't have asked for an extra shot of this stuff, really makes me jittery." Avalon ran a hand through her hair, suddenly very tired. _Fuck._ "You know, I think…I'm going to go to the nurse."

"Do you feel sick?" Kimberly's lower lip stuck out a little, her confusion giving way to full blown concern. Now that she thought about it, Avalon did look a little…off. The usual smirk that she had on her face—what she knew to become her default version of a smile—was a frown, she had bags under her eyes, and despite the coffee that she had been drinking, she looked…bad. _She does look kind of tired and out of it. I hope nothing's wrong._ She exchanged glances with Billy, he looked as bad as she did, as Avalon's best friend he probably wondered if it was something that he should have known.

"No, I need zeds." Avalon brought her hand behind her head and released her hair from her backpack, bringing it over her shoulder and allowing some of her hair to fall over her face. _Don't let them worry even more than they already are. That'll bring too many other questions I don't want to deal with._ "I'll see you guys later." She stepped around the rangers and walked through the hallways of Angel Grove until she reached the nurse's office. "Nurse Hunter, may I please lie down?"

"You've been asking that a lot, Avalon," Nurse Hunter said, turning away from her computer. Her eyes dipped Avalon up and down. "Before the break you were in here about three times a week."

"Yeah, I-I'm…" Avalon took a deep breath. _No don't break down._ "I'm going to the doctor soon, to see if something else is wrong." She motioned over to the bed. "Is it ok, if I lie down?" She tried to look as pitiful as possible, and Nurse Hunter heaved a heavy sigh.

"Alright, go ahead."

Avalon gave a small smile, tossed her Espresso away, and climbed into bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow and she pulled the blanket up over her shoulder, she was fast asleep.

* * *

 

After school, Tommy waited for Kimberly at her locker as she gathered her books together, stuffing them into her pink backpack. "C'mon Kim, they're schoolbooks, not diamonds on a dress," Tommy teased her, waiting for her to finish. Kimberly giggled lightly and placed her last book in her backpack.

"Clearly you, like, don't know anything about clothes because you would never put diamonds on anything other than a wedding dress." Kimberly grabbed onto the strap of his backpack and stood on her tiptoes, giving him a quick kiss. Tommy smiled and kissed her back.

"Hey, dweebs, no one else thinks you're cute," Bulk's voice wafted from behind the two of them. Kimberly rolled her eyes muttering, "Gross me out," under her breath and came face to face with Bulk and Skull. "I mean, we think _you're_ cute,"—Bulk flicked some of Kimberly's hair out of her face while Skull went as far as to lift a strand of her hair and sniff it. "But you two together…no, not really." Kimberly shrank back against Tommy's chest, trying to get away from their grasp, and Tommy reached out a hand, pushing Bulk back away from her.

"Yeah, well, we don't care what you think," Tommy said. He then shook his head, his long ponytail falling over his shoulders. "Why don't you go and bother someone else for a change? Doesn't it get boring, falling flat on your face all the time?"

"Don't you mean crashing?" Kimberly added.

Bulk scowled and before he could say anything to defend himself, Skull butted in, putting an arm around Bulk's shoulders, chomping away at gum as he did so. "I'll have you know that Bulkie here is on a diet to try and lose weight. His Mom even cut back on his lunch portions." Bulk slowly turned and glared at Skull as Kimberly and Tommy laughed at his disgruntled expression.

"Good for you, Bulk," Kimberly finally managed to stop giggling, though the way her lips stretched looked like she was about to start all over again. Tommy's snickering laughter caused Bulk's face to redden and with a cry, he lunged towards the pink and white rangers. The two split apart, Kimberly pressing her back against the lockers, and Tommy backing towards the open area of the hallway, and Bulk went crashing to the floor. Students that were milling around their lockers all started laughing at Bulk as Skull hurried over to help him up.

"See what I mean about falling flat on your face?" Tommy said. He grabbed onto Kimberly's hand and the two walked out of the school and to the parking lot where Kimberly had parked her pink convertible. "You'd think by now the two of them would get a clue."

Kimberly shook her head. "You haven't known Bulk and Skull as long as I have; they've always been like that to everyone." She leaned into Tommy's side, squeezing his hand. "So, are we going out this weekend? Mom says that because I've been keeping my grades up that I can stay out an extra hour."

"Then I'll definitely be taking you out, Beautiful," Tommy agreed and gave her another kiss. "I can't wait."

"And I can't wait for Valentine's Day either," Kimberly said. She jokingly smacked him on the stomach, but kept her hand there, rubbing small circles on his stomach. Through his shirt she could feel his stomach muscles roll under her palm and her smile widened. She already felt lucky, being his girlfriend, but in that moment she felt even luckier. He helped her through everything she needed in the ranger world and in the real world and she couldn't imagine anyone else being able to be her protector and her supporter all the same. "Now that I know that Jason had planned the whole last one."

"He was kidding," Tommy defended himself. "The only thing that I asked him was what kind of chocolates you would prefer." He squeezed her hand before letting go so they could get into her car. "Otherwise, everything else was all me." He tossed his backpack into the backseat, twisting around so that she didn't see the grimace that slid over his face. He knew exactly what he was going to do for Valentine's Day that year, he was just nervous as hell, there was only a little less than a month left and he needed to be sure that things were perfect. He replaced his grimace with a smile when he turned back around. "And if I remember correctly, you loved it."

"I did love it," Kimberly agreed.

She reached out and turned the keys in the ignition, starting up the car. She carefully peeled out of the parking lot and drove to the Youth Center. Tommy watched Kimberly as she drove along, a bright smile on her face. She always seemed to be smiling about something, always happy and willing to do whatever it was that someone needed to be done. That was something he absolutely loved about her, he wasn't afraid to say that word to himself anymore. The 'L' word as so many other people referred to it as. He really did love her; he loved everything about her and while there were a few things that could get on his nerves about her, as there was with anybody, he grew to love those parts about her as well. He brought her soup when she was sick, they did their homework together, he cheered her on at every gymnastics competition, he held her while she cried, and he listened as she expressed her doubts of being a ranger or what she wanted to do in life.

What he felt for her was indescribable, which was why he lit up like a Christmas tree whenever he saw her, and why he was comparatively nervous around her as well, waiting for the right moment to tell her, wanting things to be perfect when it happened. He also had a sense of wondering if she felt the same way, which was ridiculous as she wouldn't be with him if she didn't feel something. But there was still that fear in the back of his mind. Hopefully things would go the way he had thought about over and over again.

Tommy reached out and pulled Kimberly's hair out of her face as the wind whipped it around. He then traced his fingers down her cheek, her arm, and to her hand, lifting it up and pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. Kimberly smiled over at him and pulled up in front of the Youth Center. She put the car in park and leaned over, giving Tommy a long kiss. Tommy wrapped an arm around her, losing himself in the kiss, giving his feelings to her in their embrace in that moment. He let out a slight sigh, shivers running down his spine when Kimberly brought a hand up and pulled out his ponytail, running her fingers through his long hair. They continued to kiss until Tommy's watch started to beep. He opened and eye, lifting his arm up behind Kimberly's head then gave her a peck before pulling back.

"I gotta go, I have my martial arts lesson with Bailey," he said apologetically.

Kimberly pouted then leaned forward, giving him another kiss. "Ok, but don't turn her into a fighting machine like you and Jase are. That would be really scary." Reaching up her hands, she gathered Tommy's hands into a ponytail and twisted it back up into a hair tie and winked at him, tapping his chin once his face was clear from his copious amounts of silky hair. "There's your cute face."

"Comments like that are going to make it hard for me to leave this car," Tommy pointed out.

"That's the idea." Kimberly gave him another kiss then swatted him on the arm. "Go, go. I'll call you later, OK? We're still on to do homework, right?"

"Right." Tommy grabbed his backpack and climbed out of the car, carefully closing the car door. He waved at Kimberly and headed inside, going straight to the locker room to change into his workout clothes. Once he was sure that everything was locked up he walked back out to the main area of the center. He spotted Bailey sitting in the middle of a mat, pressing her feet together and leaning forward in a stretch. Standing beside her was a boy about her age with a backwards hat, arms crossed over his chest and listening as she said something. "Hey Bailey," Tommy greeted her as he walked over to the two. "How are you doing today?"

"Good." Bailey smiled and nodded, her eyes lighting up. "I got an A on my math test!" She pushed her hair behind her ears. "It was actually kind of hard. Well, harder than usual." The way she lowered her voice tipped Tommy off to know that she was referring to her work at the Command Center. It probably was interfering with her school work. "How was your day?" Her smile was infectious...and he could trust her with this.

"Great," Tommy said. He stretched his arms. "Actually, we were talking about Valentine's Day today and stuff…and I was thinking that for Valentine's Day this year that I would…tell Kim that I'm in love with her."

Bailey slapped her hands over her mouth before starting to flap them like wings. "Oh my god! That's so amazing! Really? How are you going to do it? Have you planned it all out yet? What are you going to do about flowers? Wait, _where_ are you going to tell her? The beach? Her house? A dinner? What-"

"Bay! Slow down!" Tommy laughed, holding his hands up.

"Yeah, she can get like that sometimes," the boy who was with Bailey said. He laughed lightly as Bailey rolled her eyes. "Hey." He stuck out his hand. "I'm Fred. Fred Kelman."

"Tommy. Nice to meet you, man." Tommy shook his hand firmly.

"Oh, right!" Bailey got to her feet and motioned over to Fred. "Fred's in my class and he wondered if it was ok that he came to a couple of my lessons or whatever." She clasped her hands together and started to rock back and forth, giving a sweet smile. "Sooo, is that OK?"

Tommy was suddenly struck with how much she reminded her of Kimberly. Actually, in a way, he could see Avalon reminding him of both Kimberly and Trini, but with a tougher edge to him. From his experience he knew that people that held firmly onto a tough side was usually soft and gummy on the inside. And Bailey was nothing but open and positive, though when she got into the zone of working on martial arts, she shouldn't be messed with.

"Yeah, it's fine," Tommy agreed. "Good to have you here." He clasped Fred on the shoulder before backing up a few paces. Glancing over Bailey's shoulder, he saw Avalon sitting at a nearby table, her knees propped up and a large sketchpad resting against them, her left hand holding the pad steady, the right moving quickly over the paper. Her face was set in intense concentration. Tommy looked back at Bailey and Fred and smiled, bringing his hands together. "Jason couldn't make it here today because he has a doctor's appointment, but we'll be going over a bit of what we learned last time before we went off on break to be sure that you've kept up with your lessons."

Bailey gave a determined nod.

"Ok first off, Fred, do you have any experience with martial arts?" Tommy turned to the young boy. He looked excited, though he kept a clam demeanor on the outside. His eyes were shining with determination and he appeared ready to impress.

"A little," he said slowly.

"Ok, so I'm going to do a little bit of sparring with you," Tommy said, motioning for Bailey to clear the mats. "Just so I can see where you are with this whole thing, cool?"

"Cool."

Tommy and Fred moved into position on the mats. Tommy made a mental note to himself not to go too hard, which was his original instinct. In most of his competitions and his expositions, he went full out, using all of his energy and instincts to make sure that he could anticipate what the other person was going to do and to win. Fred, for all he knew, had never fought before, and he was a kid, he didn't want to hurt him. Tommy moved into the starting position, Fred did the same, and the two bowed at each other before they started to fight. Tommy was immediately surprised by Fred's skill. It wasn't perfect and he hadn't learned that much, as Fred had originally warned—he did the same moves over and over—but his intensity was better than he thought.

Tommy and Fred went back and forth for a few minutes before Tommy caught Fred's first in his hand and he forced the younger boy to the ground on his back. Tommy grinned down and Fred and with one sharp tug, pulled him to his feet. "Nice job, man."

"Thanks," Fred said. He seemed to become even more energized with that quick compliment.

"That really was good, I think you could have a good future with this," Tommy said. He then waved Bailey back over and she skipped over to him, stopping by Fred and smiling up at Tommy. "So, first I'm going to test you on some new stances that will really help you when it comes to anticipating your opponents' move." Tommy turned to grab a water bottle from his bag.

* * *

 

They had a lot of potential.

"So what's the matter, Billy?"

Trini ran a hand through her hair as she walked alongside Billy, heading towards the Cranston residence to get some homework done. He had been quiet since the end of the school day, his face set in a look of concentration and…anxiety. That what she was getting from his aura. Nothing but stabbing fear and anxiety, something that he wanted to talk about, but wasn't getting it out, maybe he wasn't sure how to talk to her?

"I'm not sure how to say it, exactly," Billy said slowly. He kept his face away from her, looking out into the street and at the cars that passed by them, rather than directly at her. Trini frowned, they never had a problem talking before, what was it now?

"Just say it," Trini prompted. "You know that the truth sets you free, as John 8:32 has said." She moved to stand in front of him, grabbing onto his arm. Billy glanced at her and she saw nothing but sadness in his eyes. Trini was surprised, she had never seen him so down before. She was also struck by how handsome his face was without his glasses. He had changed into contacts earlier, she had been around him without the large frames for a while, but she had never been that close, close enough to see that his blue eyes were a mixture of gray and green flecks around his pupils. "What's wrong, Billy?"

"It's Av and Bailey," Billy said slowly. Trini nodded, pushing him to continue. Billy blew out a large breath, his cheeks puffing up as he did so, holding both hands on his head. "It's just…some things hadn't been adding up and I was trying to find out what their Dad did and what he had to do with our new powers." To prove his point, Billy turned his hand towards the fire hydrant that sat at the end of the street. His hand glowed a bright blue and as he twisted it back and forth, as if opening a door and the top of the fire hydrant blew off with a geyser of water.

Amazed as ever, whenever she saw the powers being used, Trini watched as the water droplets arched up in the air, heading towards them. Billy held up a hand and the water moved around them as if there was a force field surrounding the two of them, droplets creating a dark circle on the sidewalk around their feet. Not a droplet of water touched them. It was really cool, beautiful, and romantic, Trini realized. Something out of a romance movie. Trini felt her cheeks flush all of a sudden. Why were her hands flooded with sweat? Why was her heart beating a little bit faster? As Billy turned his gaze to her, she nodded.

Billy pressed his lips into a thin line as he turned back to Trini, looking right into her eyes. "I really wanted to know what was going on with this, my insatiable thirst for knowledge, I guess. And I got some information about him from Avalon and Bailey. His name's Captain William Mitchell and he works for the government. When I called the phone number that Avalon gave for me to call, I didn't get an answer. It said that the phone number was disconnected."

Trini shrugged. "Billy, there are a million reasons why a phone could be disconnected."

Billy licked his lips. "That's what I thought," he said. "But then I looked through web searches and saw his name mentioned in a few of them. He's really popular, well known for his work. But…" With a sigh, Billy pulled a folded up sheet of paper out of his pocket and handed them over to Trini. "This is what really threw me off."

Trini cast Billy a curious glance and took the paper. Unfolding it, she noticed it was a few different newspaper clippings. Trini's moved down the page and as she took in each word, her eyes started to widen. "Wha…?" She glanced up at Billy and he nodded. "He has another son and daughter? But…Avalon never mentioned having any other siblings than Bailey."

"That's why I think…she doesn't know…" Billy said slowly. He let out a growl of frustration. "How am I supposed to bring it up? It can't be a lie, I mean, over five newspapers have mentioned Ryan and Dana, and judging by this, they can't be that much older than Avalon. So…Avalon's story checks out that he works for the government and he is a captain, but for what? And…."

Trini swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat. "Do you think that…he could have cheated on her mother? Or…her mother cheated on him?" She scratched her forehead, something wasn't adding up. "That seems like it may be the case, but then how would any of them be able to keep another family completely a secret?"

Billy ran a hand over his mouth. "It happens more than anyone would think." He shook his head, his eyes turning downcast. "And…what if they don't know? I don't want to have to be the one that tell Av what's going on and if I don't, I don't want her to find out in the worst way. But…it would explain some of why she and Bailey always seem to be on guard. Jason told me, the time he and Kim had been at their apartment it appears like no one else lived there. There were no pictures of their parents around, no sign of bills or shopping bags that would show an adult presence."

Trini nodded as she listened to Billy's explanation. "Well, maybe we should just ask-"

"No!" Billy interrupted with so much passion Trini had to take a step back. He reached out and grabbed onto her hand. "Trini, please, don't say anything until the time's right. I…I don't know how they're going to take it…and I don't want them to think that they can't trust me if we confront them."

"Ok," Trini promised. "Ok, I won't say anything." She shook her head, unconcerned as the water continued to fall around them. She could hear police sirens getting close, but paid them no mind. She had never seen Billy so passionate about anything other than science before, not like that. He fought his heart out when it came to helping his friends fend off monsters in Angel Grove, but science was his one true passion and the light that illuminated his eyes proved that. Now he seemed to be on the verge of breaking down only for something that they weren't even completely sure of. It hurt her heart to see how badly he wanted to help his best friend…and couldn't. "But…hiding another family…how could anyone do that?" She placed her free hand on her chest. "My family is all about values and honor and respect and if I ever did that…if one of my parents did, they'd be cast out. Shame would be brought down upon our family."

"I know what you mean," Billy agreed. "My Mom always drilled it into my head that cheating is one of the worst things that you could do, because you don't just hurt the other person, you make it harder for them to trust someone again." He shifted his eyes away from her. "I don't want to lose that trust in anyone,"—he turned his gaze back to her—"I don't want to lose that trust in you."

Trini smiled softly. "I don't want to lose that in you either, Billy. And you won't, you know that I'll always be there to help you out."

"I do know that," Billy agreed. "Thank you." He looked down and, noticing that they were still holding hands, he quickly pulled his away, his cheeks blooming red. He reached his hands up to fumble with his glasses, his fingers connecting with his eyes as they weren't there anymore. Trini laughed quietly at him, causing Billy's face to redden even more. "You really are…one of m closer friend and I feel I can talk to you about anything. It's really cool and…it helps a lot. The times that we get to just be alone and talk is great and I wish we could do it more often. Like, on the weekends or when we're not already doing anything or…"

Trini looked at him in surprise, a small, shy smile sliding onto her face. She could feel her heart thudding against her breastbone. "Are you asking me out?"

Billy looked like he was about to have a heart attack, his face had reddened even further than she thought was possible. He seemed not to have noticed that he had implied going on a date until she brought it up. He made the movement to fumble with his glasses again. "Yeah…well…I mean…if you don't…I…mean…if you…"

Trini reached out and placed a hand over his mouth, he immediately fell silent. Trini lowered her hand and nodded. "I'd love to, Billy." She then lowered her head, feeling herself starting to blush as well. She and Billy stood there, scuffing their feet on the ground, trying to figure out what to say or what to do next.

Finally, Billy broke the silence by clearing his throat and motioning to the side. "Um…should we get going?"

"Yeah," Trini agreed. She moved to take a step, paused, seeing that the water was still flowing around them. Billy made a sound at the back of his throat, and then raised his glowing hand once more, sharply lowering his arm. Billy and Trini closed their eyes as the water cascaded down onto them, instantly soaking them to the bone. Trini burst out laughing, bending to the side to wring out her hair.

Billy used the bottom of his shirt to try and dry his face. "Woops."


	21. Diamonds and Pearls

**Chapter 21**

_Diamonds and Pearls_

"It's morphin' time!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Tiger zord!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-Tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

Despite the circumstances, Kimberly gently smiled as she raised her communicator and pressed the button on the side. She glanced over at her friends momentarily before they were turned into beams of energy, teleporting up to the Command Center. It was always so surreal, being able to change into energy and traveling over hundreds of miles in only a matter of seconds, watching the world flash by them in the time it took for her to blink. Kimberly gracefully landed in the Command Center with her friends all around her, mentally giggling at the memory of her and the other rangers having crash landed on the ground the first couple of times they had teleported. It was kind o strange to contemplate the passage of time by being a ranger rather than by days, weeks, months, and years. Kimberly reached up and took off her helmet, shaking out her hair as she did so, her smile instantly fading with the anxiety and exhaustion that washed over her.

Having been called out to confront a monster in the park, the rangers had come face to face with Caprice, Rita's and Zedd's newest horoscope monster, based off of Capricorn, the goat. Its fighting style was reminiscent to that of Arieselle, but each time they tried to attack it, using the same tactics they had with other monster they had faced before along with Arieselle, they would get knocked back down. Gemma and Nie didn't appear to be as strong, but they were still no match for the brute strength that Caprice had. And they still had the rest of the horoscope monsters to go with no end in sight and no idea how to defeat them.

"What's going on, Alpha?" Tommy asked, getting straight to business as the rangers all moved towards the animatronic robot as he stood by the viewing globe. "What is it about Rita's and Zedd's new monsters that we can't defeat them? It's like, every time they're sent down; they know exactly what we're going to do." He shook his head, his long ponytail swishing behind him. "We had to morph just to be sure we wouldn't get destroyed."

"I seriously think that's the worst that we've been beaten'," Avalon added. She winced, a fresh scrape on her cheek, placing her helmet on the ground in front of her. She placed her hands on her spandex covered hips and shook her head. "There must be something else we can do, yeah?" She held up her fist a ball of fire appearing around it, glowing brighter and brighter the longer she held her hand in a clenched fist.

"Rita's and Zedd's monster are more powerful than anything we've ever gone against before," Alpha said, waving his hands in the air. "They came up with a formidable foe this time, Zordon. I don't know if we can beat them."

"Don't say that, Alpha," Trini pleaded. "There's always something that we can do. We've faced strong monsters before and we've managed to defeat them," she said, trying to stay as positive as possible. The other rangers continued to look glum. "We've done it before and we can do it again, guys."

"Both Alpha and Trini are correct," Zordon said. "The horoscope monsters are stronger than we have ever faced, but that doesn't mean that there isn't an answer to our problem. You can do this, rangers, you just need to have faith." As he spoke, there was a white flash of light and Bailey appeared beside the rangers. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she went over to a control panel and pushed a button, allowing a panel in the floor to open and a tray of weapons appeared. "Bailey has told us that she thinks the only way they'll be able to reverse the stegosaurus zord back to the way it was, as well as de-powering their monsters to lesser forms is if their wand and scepter are destroyed."

"Really?" Zack looked interested.

"Wouldn't that be really hard to do?" Kimberly asked, resting her helmet against her side. She twisted her mouth to the side, exchanging a worried glance with Tommy. She hoped that he would be able to reassure her in some way, but she could see the unmistakable flash of worry in his brown eyes. Kimberly's eyebrows lowered as she looked up at Zordon again. He had been a mentor and a father figure to all of them, helping them through their problems and helping them become the best rangers they could be. He and Alpha could have easily given the rangers their powers and then turned their back on them, to have them figure out how to balance their normally teenage life along with their superhero life, but they hadn't. She wished they could do what Zordon and Alpha wanted; to be able to help them rid the Earth of Rita. They had been progressing for a while, not it seemed that everything had gone to waste just over a few dozen monsters. "I mean they, like, always have them with them."

"Not when they want their monsters to grow," Jason spoke up. He tapped his chin as he thought. "Rita usually throws her wand down to earth when that time comes, and Zedd uses his powers from his scepter to create an electrical current that will make the monsters grow as well."

"But is that a wise move to make?" Trini looked a little skeptical, despite her positivity the moment before. Kimberly had to admit though; it was a bit of a far-fetched idea. Actually, it was a good idea, but it was hard to believe that there would be a chance for Rita and Zedd to put down their weapons. If they were sleeping, maybe, otherwise, she could barely think about it.

"Bailey didn't say it would work, she just said it was an idea," Avalon quickly came to her sister's defense, her dark eyes flashing as she did so. She suddenly looked very tired, rubbing her eyes before tilting her head to the side. "Besides, it's not like she'd know when the two of them are going to all of a sudden decide to drop their wand and scepter on the ground."

"Relax, Av." Billy placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We know that Bailey is doing her best, giving us ideas to questions we don't know the answers to, we're all just getting equally frustrated, not seemingly able to get ahead with anything we try."

"I guess." Avalon crossed her arms over her chest, frowning, a crease appearing in her forehead as she jutted out her lower jaw.

"Look." Tommy held up a hand, turning to the rest of his ranger team. He looked each and every one of them in the eye before he spoke again. "This is really starting to stress us out and with everything else that we need to deal with right now…we just need to take a step back away from it and figure out things later." He held out his hand and the rangers piled theirs on top. "But don't think that we're going to let them get away with what they're doing. We all have the ability and the power in ourselves to get through this. Right?"

"Right," was the unanimous reply, though there was an underlying tone of low morale.

"Power down!" Jason declared and the rangers de-morphed out of their power ranger suits and back to their street clothes. Jason ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. He seemed to be just as frustrated as anyone else, Kimberly realized as she watched him. Probably because he was used to being the leader and having a plan that would take them all to victory. Now, however, it seemed that Rita and Zedd knew everything they were going to do before they did it and were always one step ahead of them. "Tommy's right guys, we should just get some rest and regroup, and come back when we have a complete game plan."

"Sounds good to me, man," Zack said, clasping his hand onto Jason's shoulder. "Not that I'm not enjoying this pity party that we seem to be throwing, but I gotta jet. Doesn't seem like we're doing anything else here, anyway."

"Don't despair rangers, you will all get through this," Alpha reassured them.

"Thanks Alpha," Billy said. With that, he, Jason, Zack, and Tommy all teleported out of the Command Center.

"You know what we need?" Kimberly walked over to Trini and Avalon and put her arms around their shoulders. "We need some retail therapy. Who wants to go to the mall? I think going into a shopping coma will at least lift my mood a little bit."

"'Cause the world revolves around you, right?" Avalon said sarcastically. Kimberly took the sarcasm in stride and gave the orange ranger a bright smile.

"No, but the sales do," Kimberly's comment made Trini and Avalon burst out laughing, wrapping their arms around their stomachs as they did so. Kimberly giggled and turned to the young girl that held up a screwdriver and seemed to be working on Zack's power lance, a deep frown on her face. "Hey, Bay, do you want to come to the mall with us?"

Bailey shook her head, pursing her lips. "Sorry, Kim, but I think I should probably stay here and get some of this stuff done. Maybe if I was actually getting some sort of progress with this stuff, we could actually get something done."

"Hey." Avalon walked over to her sister and placed her hand on her sister's cheeks, tilting her head back so she could look down into Bailey's eyes. "You need to stop being so hard on yourself. This is hard on everyone and it's not going to help much if you keep putting a lot of pressure on yourself, yeah?"

"Yeah," Bailey mumbled.

"Good." Avalon dropped her hands from her sister's cheeks. "Ok. Don't stay here too late; you still have homework to do. I'll see you at home." She turned to walk away and turned back to Bailey, pointing a finger at her. "And stay out of trouble!"

Bailey cocked her right eyebrow before giving her sister a look that Kimberly couldn't decipher. "I should be saying that you." Avalon's eyes narrowed. Kimberly turned to Trini and exchanged a look with her. She was glad that Trini was her best friend; she could tell they were on the same page with that one look that said, _what was that all about?_ They had seen the Mitchell sisters bicker and play fight with each other, but this was more serious than the two of them had seen before.

"Whatever booger, I'll see you later." Avalon dismissed her sister and she, Trini, and Kimberly teleported out of the command center and to the school's parking lot, where they started to walk towards Kimberly's car, getting ready to head out to the mall. Avalon then spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen between the three girls. "So, Kim, why don't you just tell Trini that you want to go to the mall so we can pick out and outfit for her?"

Kimberly stopped in her tracks and looked at Avalon with a slightly reproachful look. There went her master plan. Trini _did_ like to go to the mall with Kimberly, but most of the time she didn't buy nearly as much as Kim did, nor did she like to try things on just for the sake of trying things on. When Trini had called Kimberly and Avalon and told them that Billy had asked her out, Kimberly had screamed so loud that her mother had come racing into her room, wondering if Kimberly had been attacked or if she someone had broken into their house again. That's what Kimberly and her mother had reasoned; that their things had gone missing because their house had been targeted by the local gangs. It made sense, they were in a rich neighborhood and they never really thought that things would get to that point. Maybe being a ranger had made her views on safety a bit skewed, she was used to protecting people outside of her home and from afar. She hadn't thought of having to do it from _inside_ her home. She didn't worry about that now, now she was wondering how the, now smirking; orange ranger knew what she had planned.

"Kim." Trini shot Kimberly a disapproving glance.

"Av!" Kimberly pouted. "Why'd you do that? How'd you even know that I was planning?"

"One; don't call me Av," Avalon said, holding up a finger. She held up another, giving the pink and yellow rangers the peace sign. "Two; I can see right through you, Pinkerbell. You think you're sneaky, but you have this whole heart on your sleeve thing going on. Three; why else would you, all of a sudden, really want to go to the mall? I mean, Trini just told us a few days ago that Billy asked her out,"—Avalon's upper lip curled—"which I still don't understand why that little booger didn't tell me that he was thinking about it,"—she waved a hand dismissively—"and I like the mall as much as you do. Trust me, I could _live_ there, and there are no sales right now for shoes. And shoes are your kryptonite."

"Fine." Kimberly stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms over her chest, turning away from Avalon. "You can't use my discount at the shoe store anymore."

"Ooh, that hurts Kim," Avalon said sardonically, tracing a tear track from her right eye down her cheek. "You hit me right where it hurts. In the _shoes_." To further exasperate Kimberly, she pressed her feet together, smacking the heels of her ever present, black, ankle boots together, and made a shoe of knocking her knees.

"Guys!" Trini laughed, holding up her hands. Kimberly and Avalon stuck their tongues out at each other before finally turning back to the yellow ranger, who was waiting for their attention before continuing. She gave a tiny smile, blushing a little as she did so. "I'm…I'm as excited as you are about what's going on with me and Billy. But he just asked me out, we haven't really made plans yet. For all I know, we probably won't even go-"

"Don't say that," Kimberly interrupted her, placing a hand over Trini's mouth. "You're going to jinx it and anger the dating gods." She ignored Avalon's snort and raised eyebrow. The orange and pink rangers were good friends; however Avalon always seemed to be teasing her about something, causing the two girls to find a way to playfully bicker, ending up sticking their tongues out at each other. "Yes, Miss. Mitchell, there are such things as dating gods. There are dating gods and there are shopping gods and you're angering broth." Avalon held her hands up defensively, turning her dark eyes away from her. "Anyway, Trini, you're going to go on a date and we're going to make sure you have a super cute outfit for when the time comes. So,"—Kimberly pulled out her car keys and pressed a button on the remote, unlocking the convertible—"let's go to the mall!"

Avalon smiled, shaking her head and walked over to the driver's seat and pushed it forward before sliding into the backseat of the convertible. Leaning back, she moved her legs out of the way as Kimberly climbed into the driver's seat and pushed the seat back so it rested against Avalon's knees. Trini got into the passenger seat and pulled the door closed. Kimberly started up the car and backed out of the parking space, only turning on the radio when she had gotten on the road to start driving to the mall. She started to bop her head along with the beat of the pop song that blasted through Kimberly's speakers—not that it surprised Avalon, she was rock, Kim was pop, and Trini was a mixture of both—and started to sing under her breath. She hadn't noticed that Kimberly and Trini were listening until she turned away from the window and looked ahead, noticing they weren't talking.

Avalon's voice slowly lowered into a whisper until she stopped singing all together. _Fuck. This is the second time this happened._ Avalon scowled when she caught Trini's gaze in the rearview mirror. "I wish you'd stop doing that."

"But you have a good voice, Av," Trini protested.

"I said the same thing," Kimberly protested.

"Yeah, and I said that you were a great friend and I guess I lied about that as well," Avalon replied and then chuckled slightly, running a hand through her hair. In front of her, she could Trini wince a little, bringing her hand up to her mouth and start to chew on one of her fingernails. Avalon's lips twitched but she didn't ask what was wrong, thinking it wasn't her business if she didn't want to volunteer the information. Now that she thought about it, Trini had been a bit quieter than usual. _She's probably just really nervous about her date with Billy._ "Besides, I thought we were supposed to be focusing on Trini and her date."

"I can multi-task," Kimberly protested.

Avalon let the conversation drop. She closed her eyes, thinking about Bailey and how much work she was putting in the Command Center. She really did a lot of work and didn't get a lot of recognition for it and she _had_ , admittedly, been dropping Bailey off with Tommy every time she needed to go on a hit with Chase and the others if she didn't just leave her at the apartment to fend for herself. Now that she thought about it, her life and her problems seemed to pale in comparison to Bailey's. The girl was twelve years old, she had only recently gotten her period, she had her first heartbreak, she was working in the Command Center at a moment's notice, and on top of that, she was trying to be a normal pre-teen girl. Avalon's lips started to twitch up into a smile. Bailey's birthday was coming up soon and she was determined to make sure it was a good one.

"What's that smile for?" Trini leaned into the backseat, noticing the orange ranger's grin.

"Just, like, thinking of all the shoe sales," Avalon said, mimicking a valley girl accent. She then laughed gleefully as Kimberly made a sound of annoyance. "No, seriously, I was thinking that Bailey's birthday is coming up and I really want to do something for her, especially since she's been working so hard."

"That's a good idea," Trini said. She then moved her mouth to the side, lowering her gaze a little. "I hope we're invited."

"Of course," Avalon said with a wave of a hand. "That goes without saying. Besides, I'm sure she'd kill me if you all weren't there."

"Um." Trini sucked her lips into her mouth. "How is Bailey feeling…you know about what happened with her and Billy and the two of us now going to go out on a date?" She waited for Avalon's answer, twisting her fingers as she did so. Avalon made a humming sound and shrugged saying, "she seems ok," and left it at that. Trini nodded back, settling back into place. The three girls listened to the radio the rest of the way to the mall. Once they arrived, they all climbed out of the pink convertible and headed into the mall. Kimberly lead the way, walking with a determined purpose as Trini and Avalon followed behind them, trying to walk as quickly as possible to keep up with her.

All of a sudden, Kimberly stopped and Trini almost walked into her. She turned to ask what Kimberly was looking at, and then made a sound of understanding. Kimberly stared longingly at a pearl necklace that sat on the neck of a mannequin in the jewelry store window. Kimberly tilted her head down to the side to look at the price as she continued to stare at the pearl necklace. Her fingers curled on the glass. Of everything the thieves could've taken, they had to take her pearl necklace? It seemed like just a regular necklace to anyone else that had it, but it had been given a gift, one of the last things that her father had given her.

Avalon glanced at Kimberly and turned away from her, running a hand through her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut. _God, Av, you're such a boofhead! Each and every time you try to get out of the gang, each and every time you try and make things better, it all blows up in your face once more. The money is great, everything was great at the beginning, being able to have a place to live and not having to worry about anything. You really screwed up this time._ She couldn't stand to look at Kimberly or at the pearl necklace.

She made a vow, then and there, that she was going to get it back, no matter what or how long it took.

* * *

 

Zack kicked at the ground, sending a rock shooting down the sidewalk. He lifted his hands and ran them over his flat top haircut before holding them on the back of his neck. Glancing at Jason out of the corner of his eye, he could see the stoic expression that Jason almost always seemed to have on his face. This time, it was tinged with anger and annoyance. Zack sighed and lowered a hand, shaking Jason's shoulder. "Jase, dude, it's no one's fault," he said, trying to reassure him as they walked through town. "We don't know the power that these monsters have and we underestimated them a little bit."

"That's kind of what's bothering me," Jason murmured. He lifted his gaze from the ground and kept his eyes straight ahead. "How much more can we underestimate Rita and Zedd before we get destroyed? We had to morph and then get teleported out just to be sure that didn't happen." He shook his head before reaching a hand out and tugging at the earring that was in his ear. "We never had to do that before. Ever."

"I know," Zack said quietly. "I'm just as frustrated as you are. I mean, how many more times can we have our asses handed to us before we come up with something that will stop them." He cocked his head to the side. "Ok, let's think about the homecoming dance. Arieselle is like Caprice in the way she fights and it makes sense considering Arieselle was a ram and Caprice is a goat."

He stopped walking and raised a hand to his chin. He thought back to the homecoming dance. The rangers had planned on going to have a good time and he did have a good time with Angela, but, as usual, Rita and Zedd had destroyed their good time by sending Arieselle down to attack the school. In a way, that was very smart, as Billy had pointed out. They waited for them to completely let their guard down before attacking. Avalon, at the time, had been the only one who had heard the communicator going off and, knowing that Zordon and Alpha couldn't forcibly teleport them while the other rangers were dancing, she tried to take the monster on herself, wanting the rangers to have a good night. She ended up getting kidnapped by Rita and Zedd and the other rangers raced off to save her. She, in turn, ended up declaring them as her friends and saving them from Arieselle before they all created the Megazord to finally beat off the first of the horoscope monsters.

"The only way we were able to defeat her was when Billy used the new powers that he got from the cube that was created from Avalon's power," Zack reminded her. "And if that's the only way that we can defeat the rest of the monsters and Rita's magic, then we're screwed. Because only Billy and Avalon can use that power."

"What if the rest of us touch the cube too?" Jason pointed out. "What if the rest of us can develop powers like that?" He shook his head, frustrating causing a growl to come to his voice. "We wouldn't know, though, because Alpha and Zordon said it's too dangerous, not knowing what side effect can happen."

Zack was amazed as he stared his best friend. He and Jason were total opposite, Zack was a chatter box and outgoing with his emotions and Jason was a man of few words who kept his emotions to himself. But the two balanced each other out with their enjoyment of school—though not to the point of Billy and Trini—hanging out, having fun, and scoping out babes. He had never seen Jason get to this point, where he questioned what Zordon and Alpha had thought. He had never seen him get to a more emotional spot, used to having short orders and short sentences being barked around whenever he got serious.

"Jase, man, are you ok?" Zack asked tentatively.

"No," Jason replied, and left it at that. Zack decided to leave him alone, knowing if he continued to try and pressure him to talk about it; nothing good would come of it. They couldn't know how things were going to go with the rest of Rita's and Zedd's monsters. They had no game plan and, just like what happened with Tommy when he was the green ranger, they had to go on blind faith. They managed to gain a good friend out of Tommy and defeat one of Rita's and Zedd's stronger henchmen during that time. They could do it now, too.

But at what cost?

How much longer could they sit back and try to figure things out without a plan of action? Jason was never the one that would blindly rush into battle, but maybe this was one of those times that they should have tried it out?

Jason looked up as they approached a sports store. He stopped short and flung his arm out, catching Zack across the chest. Zack stumbled against Jason's arm and looked sharply over at his friend, ready to rip him a new one, but stopped, following Jason's gaze. Jason squinted his eyes and looked harder at the small group of teenagers. There were only three of them, a short blonde girl, a tall blonde boy and a taller brunette boy. They were all talking quietly, their pockets bulging with something and constantly looking over their shoulders. Jason's eyes moved over to the blonde boy, he seemed to be the ringleader of them all, the other two nodding at whatever he said and only speaking when he was done, though the other two would speak over each other. Jason studied him; tall, blonde hair, gray eyes, and a strong jawbone hat seemed to increase his masculinity and intimidation. Jason's eyes lowered to the guys' neck and his eyes moved over the intricate looking 'V' that was tattooed there.

 _That looks so familiar…_ Jason thought, wracking his brain. _Where have I seen that before?_ With a start, it came crashing back to him. Shortly after the homecoming dance, when Avalon had gone over to Zack's house to get some more work done on their project. He had seen the same tattoo on the inside of her wrist.

_"What's that?" Jason pointed at her wrist. Avalon lifted her hand and revealed a 'V 'tattooed on the inside of her wrist. "What's it stand for?"_

_"Valor," Avalon said._

Did it really stand for Valor or was it a line she was feeding him? He thought her admitting they were friends had opened her up a bit more to reveal things to the rangers. And she had revealed more things to them, but that didn't stop the shroud of mystery that appeared to get thicker and thicker with every step that she took forward. Jason watched as Chase, Skye, and Summer looked their way and looked the two boys up and down. Chase turned to face Jason fully and lifted his chin before smirking and turning away and walking down the street, disappearing around the corner.

"That was weird," Zack murmured.

"I was thinking the same thing," Jason added. He tilted his head to the side. "Did he have the same tattoo Av has?"

"I didn't notice," Zack admitted.

"It looked exactly the same," Jason insisted. "Down to the little squiggles and swirls and stuff." And what was that smirk about? Had he recognized him or something? Jason was sure he had never seen him before. Maybe once or twice, but wasn't sure exactly who he was. Mistaken identity? He could only be so lucky.

"Are you sure that's the same tattoo?" Zack seemed to be trying his hardest to come up with any other explanation for it. "I mean, how many people in the world have a 'V' tattooed on them. It can stand for virtually anything."

"I know," Jason agreed. "But his tattoo was freaking sitting on his neck. And it's huge and looks exactly the same, that can't be a coincidence." He crossed his arms over his chest. "They seemed to be acting pretty suspicious." He scratched the back of his neck. "And…we've seen him hanging around Av before." Jason started to rub his neck, turning away from Zack his eyes shifting back and forth. He wasn't entirely sure of that, but he had a feeling. "I don't know; I have a feeling that something is wrong…"

"Getting a little protective?" Zack grinned.

Jason rolled his eyes, turning back to the black ranger. "I'm protective of all my friends, Zack. It's just something that Av has said before." He lifted his thumb to scratch his forehead before crossing his arms. "When Kim and I went to her apartment that one time, she had this massive bruise on her face. I didn't say before, but I had seen it earlier when we were having movie night at Trini's house that one time."

"That was ages ago, Jase," Zack pointed out.

"I know."

"So why did you wait so long to say something?"

"I didn't think it was my business," Jason admitted. He paused. "But, not I think it is. When I asked her about it, she said that she deserved to get hit." He pointed his chin over in the direction that Chase, Skye, and Summer had just disappeared around. "I thought it was weird, but now it kind of makes sense…do you think he's dating her?"

It took Zack a moment to understand what Jason was implying before Zack's eyes widened. "You think he's hitting her?"

"I don't know for sure," Jason said quickly. "It's just a thought. And you have to admit that it makes sense as to why she acts so weird about everything at home. I mean, we don't really know anything about her other than she's from Australia, she just transferred to Angel Grove, their parents are busy, she keeps running off at a moment's notice to do whatever and…apparently she has singing stage-fright ." He reached out and poked Zack in the chest. "I knew more about you in the first ten minutes of meeting you and that's because you never stopped talking."

Zack gave a sarcastic laugh, pushing Jason's hands away. "I think you're overreacting, man."

"I hope I am."


	22. Fire and Water

**Chapter 22**

_Fire and Water_

* * *

 

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"No. But that's the beauty of science, if it doesn't work the first time; you keep trying until it does." Billy continued to rub sunscreen over his face, peeking at Avalon out of the corner of his eye as he did so. Just as he thought, she was looking at him skeptically. "Come on, Av, don't you want to see if it's possible?"

"I want to see if it's possible," she agreed. "I just don't want to drown." Avalon tightened her grip on the surfboard that was tucked under her arm. Her dark eyes scanned the flat water for a few moments then her shoulders slumped in disappointment. "I hate it when the weathermen are wrong." She pouted.

"They were just off by a day." Billy dusted off his hands and glanced up at the sky. Raising a hand, he shielded his face, eyes scanning the horizon. There wasn't a cloud in sight, no wind blowing. Nothing that would make a wave big enough for her to go surfing on. Billy glanced around at the beach; there were a bunch of families, adults, and teenagers who were running around on the beach. He could see a few surfboards as well. She wasn't the only one that was going to be disappointed that day. Billy turned back to the water and took a deep breath, trying to calm the nerves that erupted in his stomach. His idea…there was a good chance that it could go wrong and that they could drown.

Usually he tried to stay as far away from the water as he possibly could. He didn't like the idea of scuba diving, all of that water over his head with nowhere to go. He knew he missed out on a lot, but he was taking baby steps to get through it. He was able to go snorkeling every now and then, but only if a friend was nearby and if he didn't go too far away from the surface. Billy shuddered briefly closing his eyes. How fitting. He was the one that didn't particularly like water, was afraid of fish, and was the one that had given him the ability to control water. All because he touched a stupid cube. A cube that was more of a mystery than anything else they had ever faced with Rita and Zedd. Now he was going to try and do this…when there wasn't even a good chance that it would work.

He must have been crazy.

 _Everyone said that Einstein was crazy,_ Billy reminded himself. _You may be on the edge of a breakthrough._

"Alright." Avalon's voice broke Billy out of his thoughts. She heaved her surfboard to the ground and adjusted her orange bikini top before turning to Billy expectantly. When he didn't move, she pointed over at the water. "Aren't you going to go in?"

Billy paused, his fingers twitching at his sides. "I'm pacing myself," he finally managed to say, his voice quivering slightly. "Checking out the quality of the water…seeing if there's anything that'd get in the way of our entrance…"

"Stalling for time," Avalon said with a disappointed sigh. She turned and moved in front of Billy placing her hands on his shoulders. Tightening her grip, Avalon pressed her thumbs into his collar bone so she had his complete attention. "Smurf,"—Billy smiled at the use of his nickname from her—"you have the ability to control water. You can get through this. The water is going to be something that you're going to have to deal with at some point or another." Billy brought his lips into his mouth and nodded, moving his gaze from hers to over her head. "And, I'll be right there next to you." Avalon hesitated a moment before moving to his side and grabbing onto his hand. "So just tap me or grab my arm or something and we'll pop back to the surface." She made a popping sound with her mouth.

Billy nodded.

"And I'm a certified lifeguard, so if anything, you'll a least get a kiss out of me," Avalon added with a cheeky smile, brushing her cheek with her shoulder as she turned her head.

Billy nodded again, though this time he smiled a little. He bit his lower lip, closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to build up his confidence as Avalon had, and opened his eyes once more. It was now or never. If he didn't do it now, he would never do it. Billy took a couple of deep breaths. He could do this. He could do this.

"Ok, let's go." Billy tightened his grip on Avalon's hand and the two slowly started to walk into the water. Billy flinched for a moment, at the icy coolness that washed over his feet, making his toes go numb. He stopped and rubbed his feet over each other, between the waves, hoping to get some feeling back in his toes.

"It gets worse the longer you wait," Avalon pointed out. She started to walk forward again, pulling Billy along behind her as she went. She squeezed his hand and Billy squeezed her s back. He sucked in a breath and held it as they continued to walk through the water. It came up to his belly button, the water lapping against his stomach, licking at his skin. Goose bumps appeared on his arms and a chill ran down his spine. Still, the two continued to walk into the water until it reached closer to their chests. Avalon let go of Billy's hand and nodded to him, gently moving her arms through the water as she treaded, using her tiptoes to keep herself upright.

"Ok." Billy stretched his arms out in front of him. "Here we go." He closed his eyes, concentrating on the energy that flowed through him much like the water around him. He could feel the energy start in the pit of his stomach, the same way the 'power' moved through him when he was morphing or teleporting. Billy opened his eyes and glanced down at the bright blue glow that covered his hands. The water around them started to shift back and forth as he moved his hands.

He had the control of the water.

Now he needed to see if this would work.

Billy started to move his hands around, as if he was creating an imaginary circle in his hands. Avalon started to back away from Billy and Billy felt a slight pressure by his legs, causing him to back up a few paces as well. He continued to draw a circle in the air for a few moments before pressing his hands down on top of the water. The water parted and the opening to a pocket of air formed. Billy raised his eyes to Avalon. She gave him an encouraging nod.

Billy took a deep breath and bent forward, as if diving into a pool. He closed his eyes as he settled down into the air pocket, waiting for the water to rush in after him, filling up the bubble. Slowly, he opened his eyes. _Wow._

Fish swam around him, moving out of the way of the bubble. Their gills and fins flapped as they wiggled by. Tilting his head up, Billy could see the opening of the bubble continued to keep water out, even as tiny waves washed over it. Avalon sucked in a deep breath and dove into the water by him, outside of the bubble. Her hair cascaded through the water like water based paint. Gently kicking her legs, she moved around the bubble, holding her hand out and touching the outside edge of the bubble as she went. Billy could see the imprints of her fingers on the bubble as she went. But it still didn't pop.

Setting down on the bottom of the bubble, Billy stretched out as if he was sitting on a couch. The bubble formed around his body shape, gently pressing into him at all sides. His hammering heart started to slow down, relaxing to its normal resting heart rate. His hands were shaking. He wasn't gasping for air. He didn't have a need to go bolting for the surface. This was working. As Avalon moved around the bubble once more, Billy poked the edge, right into her palm. When she turned to him, he jerked his thumb upwards, pointing towards the opening of the bubble. Avalon followed her lead and climbed inside. Once she was in, Billy moved his hands together, pressing his palms flat, and the top of the bubble sealed itself shut and started to bob up and down in the ocean water.

"This is awesome, Smurf!" Avalon commented, wringing out her wet hair into the bottom of the bubble. As the two watched, the water melted into the bubble, leaving the bottom as dry as the rest of their surface was. "I can't believe it worked."

"Me either," Billy agreed.

In theory there was no question it would work. If he could control the water, he should have been able to control shapes with it. It was when he was doing the dishes with his mother that he thought about it. The chemical makeup for soap bubbles was different than creating a bubble completely out of water a well as having it completely seal up so no excess water got in and so there would be enough air for them to use for a while. Avalon pressed her face against the bubble and watched as a school of fish moved by. He chuckled to himself, seeing the childlike expression on her face. She definitely did have a sort of connection with the water. Having lived in Australia for a while, she was in the water, surfing or swimming, almost every day. Moving to Angel Grove where the beach wasn't as close, she wasn't able to frequent it as much as she was used to. Instead, she took a couple of trips to the beach whenever she got the chance. Now she was able to be under the water without having to worry about…well, anything.

It was a good way to escape reality.

Water was strangely calming that way. It was probably the only way that Billy would allow himself to stay under the water long enough. If he could make a sort of bubble around his head, he would go snorkeling with the others. Though with anyone else around, it would make things a bit more difficult. Billy brought his arms up behind his head and looked at the ceiling of the bubble. How could he ever explain this to anyone without revealing his identity of being a power ranger? How could he try to explain where the ability came from without revealing to Avalon what he found out about hers and Bailey's father? There was always something that was at stake…

"What are you thinking about?" Avalon peeled her face off of the side of the bubble and turned, sitting Indian style by Billy's side. She brought her knees up to rest against her chest, placing her chin on her knees and encircling her arms around her legs. She gave him a tiny smile, suddenly looking a lot younger than her otherwise serious face made her appear. She looked like the weight of the world was off her shoulders and that she was a carefree teenager.

 _How much longer until I am carefree? _Avalon thought, trying her hardest not to let her smile drop. In a way, she was living a quadruple life, a double-double life. She was a power ranger and a normal teenager with the rest of the rangers and she was a gang member and a normal teenager to her gang, the Vipers. The stress was slowly starting to build, trying to keep them both separate, her nightmares were become more frequent, she was starting to form insomnia, and everyone was getting too close around her. _How much longer until I can finally leave and have my life to myself again?_

"I was thinking about not being able to tell anyone about being a power ranger," Billy admitted. "There are many times…where I have to make any excuse I can so Mom and Dad don't find out." He brought ah and up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm putting them in danger all the time, just because I'm trying to save them."

Avalon slowly smiled, her eyes lighting up. "I was thinking the same thing," she said. "Read my brainwaves." She ran a hand through her long hair, brushing it over her shoulder. Billy's eyes followed her movement, landing on a scar on her collarbone. It was light and slightly puffy against the rest of her skin. Kind of an odd place for a scar. "It's weird…I can talk about this sort of thing with you…so much easier than everyone else. I don't feel strange about it." She reached out and teasingly punched him on the shoulder. "I'm sure the constant swabs have helped."

She had actually started to get tired of his coming to her, asking for a hair sample or some nail samples for his experiments. Though a bigger part of her was wondering what was going on as well. Why was it that she had turned into a ranger and everything that had lied dormant would come flying out all at once? It got to the point that every day after school, if she wasn't doing a hit or plotting with the Vipers she would go over to Billy's house to test out some more samples that he needed, being his assistant whenever the time came. And in return he would help her with her homework or allow her a place to crash if she ever needed to sleep for a while. Billy had even started to meet her and her sister as they would walk to school in the morning, meeting up with the other rangers if they decided to walk too. In actuality, Avalon was sure it was because of the two of them piloting the triceratops zord. They had to trust each other to know what they were doing and to listen to each other when they zord was needed.

When her stegosaurus zord was first miniaturized, Billy took the time to show her around the triceratops zord, showing her what lever did what and what button did what. More and more times she went into the zord, she could feel herself connecting to it and Bill more and more. When they were in the zord she knew what he was thinking, what move he was going to make, what he had planned before he opened his mouth.

"Maybe it's an opposites attract thing," Billy suggested. "Fire and Water."

The two looked at each other and with that one exchange of glances; they could feel something grow within the Power. Something that linked them together. Fire couldn't live without water and water couldn't live without fire. They were both essentially to the way the elements thrived with each other. Billy had read that somewhere; in some sort of text as he had researched an explanation with their powers:

_ Fire and Water: _ _Both of these are elements given over to passions of some sort or another, and without the possible mitigations of any of the other elements, this combination has a tendency to go a bit overboard. Emotions are never felt more deeply than by someone who is fire and water, as water's depth is powered by the sheer force inherent in fire. However, these emotions are prone to change, often without warning, and without apparent reason. Problems tend to phase a fire/water, as their general inclinations are either to blast through or flow around them and these approaches are fairly contradictory._

It did make sense.

"I know…" Avalon's eyes had traveled around the bubble and landed on Billy once more. Her normally dark eyes were now lighter, showing excitement and…compassion in them, rather than the darker pools of uncertainty…a shield keeping people out. "This can be our secret. Our secret place," Avalon said. She leaned forward and held out her hand, rings adorning her fingers. Her hand was face-up, showing off her tattoo. Billy's eyebrows furrowed his forehead creasing. "This. Being here. You're facing your fear…I'm able to relax. We're both able to sit down here and watch the world go by around us. No pressure, no anything. Just a place to talk."

Billy sat up, his right eyebrow lowering. "But we talk all the time."

Avalon chewed her lower lip. _But this is a place where I can really talk. Where I can, maybe, finally, tell you about everything else I've been doing. _She wondered how he would react, if she told him about the gang. Would he freak out like she expected? Would he shun her? Tell the others? Would _they_ all shun her? Kick her out of being a power ranger? Was that possible? Avalon shook her head, smoothing her hair over her face before starting to rapidly tap her feet. She brought her hand up to her mouth, clamping her teeth down onto her thumb nail.

Billy gave her a disapproving look. "That's not good for you," he said.

"Thanks Dad." Avalon pulled her hand away from her mouth, wiped it off on the side of her black swim shorts, and held out her hand again. "D'you promise? This'll be our secret. Whatever we want to talk about here, we won't be judged for it?" Avalon's eyes searched Billy's. The longer she held her hand out, the harder her heart started to thump against her breastbone. Now she was the nervous one. But for an entirely different reason.

For a more serious reason.

Billy studded Avalon's face, her intense eyes bored into his. Appearing to plead with him. Her lower lip slightly trembled, almost unnoticeable. Billy reached out his hand and grabbed onto hers, holding onto it tightly before she moved her hand around so their pinkies were linked together. A grin spread across Avalon's face, the second one in a row. The only other times he had seen her smile that much was during the rangers' movies nights or when they were doing homework together.

It was good to see. The within her cooled enough so she showed a sweet, caring side. She had such a charming smile he wished more people would see and was really funny and compassionate, especially when around her sister.

"Yeah." Billy smiled. "I like that. A situate where two citizens can really illustrate that they trust each other and that they're steadfast."

Avalon blinked at him.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "That."

Billy laughed.

Avalon smiled and laughed too.


	23. Gang Warfare

**Chapter 23**

_Gang Warfare_

_"The Ankylosaurus zord is something that can either help you all…or destroy you."_

_"You need to make a choice and you're not going to make it on our expense."_

_"Your past mistakes don't define who you are…it's the way you perceive yourself and treat others that do."_

"Av, wake up, we're going to be late." Bailey stood above her sister, pressing her hands into her sister's side and shaking her. Avalon let out a short groan and rolled over, bringing her blankets up over her head. Her dark eyes fluttered open and she stared, half-lidded, at her sister for a few moments. Bailey laughed at her sister and climbed up onto Avalon's bed.

"C'mon, Av. You're presenting your project today," Bailey reminded her. "And from what I've seen from your practices with Zack and Billy, it's really good. I know everyone's going to love it." Avalon made a snorting sound and rolled her eyes before turning onto her back. "What's wrong?" She leaned forward and rested her hand against her big sister's forehead, much like Avalon would do to Bailey whenever she was sick. "Are you sick?"

"Sick of being tired, maybe," Avalon replied. With effort, she pulled herself up into a sitting position and Bailey then noticed the dark bags under the orange ranger's eyes. "I'll be OK." She noticed Bailey's worried glance and gently shook her head. "Bay, don't worry about me, it's my job to worry about you."

"I can't help it, Av." Bailey pouted. "I mean, you're constantly running in and out of here to be with the other rangers, to help Billy with some sort of an experiment, or are running around with Chase and them, trying not to get caught by the police." Bailey waved an arm. "And what with the break ins being put on the news more and more, it's only a matter of time until you get caught."

"I'm too good to get caught," Avalon dismissed her sister. She pushed back her covers on the bed and, using her enhanced speed, zipped around the room, gathering her clothes, changing out of her pajamas, gathering her school books together, got dressed, and stuffed her backpack filled with her books. When she finished, which in reality was only ten seconds later, she stood in front of Bailey, makeup carefully applied to hide the bags under her eyes and a half smile on her face. "How do I look?" She spun in a quick circle, the bottom of her dark wash jean skirt slightly flaring out around her as she did so.

"Great," Bailey replied. "As usual." Avalon smiled and Bailey pushed her glasses up her nose. "But you know that Kim is going to freak out once she sees you in anything other than pants, right."

"Yeah, well, it's only for our presentation today, so she'd be on her deathbed if she ever sees it again," Avalon joked. She glanced at Bailey, noticing that she was completely dressed and had her backpack on her back, her hair free from her shoulders. "Are you ready for school?"

"Yeah, I've been ready for a while," Bailey replied. She got up off of Avalon's bed and smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because unlike you underachievers, I like to be sure that I'm going to get a good education."

Avalon raised an eyebrow. "I already get enough of that from Billy, Bay. I don't need it from you too." She reached out a hand and flicked Bailey on the tip of her nose. Bailey reached up and slapped her hand away. Avalon's lips curled into a smirk and she brought her hands out, starting to tickle her little sister in the stomach and her sides. Bailey immediately curled up in on herself, shrieking with laughter as she tried to roll away from Avalon's hands. Avalon tortured her for a few minutes before finally backing up, so Bailey could catch her breath. Giggling, Bailey laid on her back on the bed, her arms draped loosely over her stomach. Avalon leaned over her and pressed her lips to Bailey's cheek and blew a raspberry on her. Finally, she turned her back on her sister and left the room, her laughter subsiding.

Avalon went into the kitchen and quickly grabbed some leftover money for lunch and shoved it into her pocket. Then, turning on her heel, she started towards the front door, her dark eyes landed on the sheet of paper that had been slid under the door. She quickly grabbed it and shoved it into her backpack, knowing it was another eviction notice. It was only a matter of time before she had to tell Bailey about it, it was only a matter of time until her plans of stalling before they got all of the money together (without having to spend it on bills and food) would be able to pay it all off.

 _One other thing I have to worry about,_ Avalon thought. She shoved the paper down into her backpack and grabbed the extra key to the apartment before Bailey rounded the corner and practically bounced up beside her. Avalon glanced at her sister, but didn't ask her about it. She tightened her grip on the key in her hand, wondering how much longer they were going to be able to live there, before she noticed it starting to warm in her hand. Avalon turned the key over and saw that it was bright orange, enough so that if a hammer pressed into it, it would mold into another shape. Avalon closed her glowing orange fingers over it and closed her eyes, feeling the energy of the power and allowed it to subside. Her hands stopped glowing and the key returned to its normal coloring.

The girls left the apartment and started to walk towards the school. Once they reached the end of the street, they looked both ways before crossing and turning off to the right, to meet up with Billy at the entrance o f his neighborhood. He had a large book in his hands and was walking in a small, slow circle as he did so. He looked up when he noticed the two girls and gave them a bright wave. "Hi, girls!" He greeted them, turning to put his book away.

"Hi Billy." Bailey gave a small smile, before looking down at her feet. Avalon glanced at her and gave a sympathetic smile. _Having her crush be rejected must sting,_ she thought. _Hope the little booger's gonna be ok._

"Hey Smurf, what's up?" Avalon flicked her hair over her shoulder and gave a half smile at her friend. She then shuffled her feet, gently tugging on the bottom of her skirt. Lifting her gaze, she ran her hands through her hair. "You ready for our presentation today?"

"I guess so," Billy agreed. "Well, I'm not doing anything more than you and Zack are, but I think we'll do a good job." Zipping up his backpack, he turned back to the orange ranger and technical advisor. "You've really improved the duration that we've been working on it, and I think it'll really show."

"Thanks." Avalon held out her arm. "May as well get going, I'm sure your head will blow up if you're late for once in your life." She lightly tapped him on the tip of his nose before walking around him and starting up the street. Billy chuckled and he and Bailey followed along behind her.

"There's nothing wrong with punctuality," Billy reminded her.

"That's what I always say," Bailey added. "But _Av_ , here, likes to sleep in as long as she can." She reached out and slapped Avalon the back of the arm. Avalon brought her arm back and smacked Bailey on the shoulder. "Ow!" She laughed and rubbed the spot that she had just been whacked. She glanced over at Avalon when she heard her phone go off and start to ring with text messages. She sighed loudly and pulled her phone from her pocket, reading each one before texting back.

Billy glanced over at her. "Seems like someone's trying to reach you."

"Seems like it's not your business," Avalon mumbled in reply. Billy's eyebrows lowered in confusion and he turned to Bailey who shrugged, bit her bottom lip, and looked away. She knew who was texting and she knew how Avalon got whenever she was conversing with them or whenever they were around; short tempered, snappy, and anxious.

"Are you ok?" Billy reached out a hand to place it on her shoulder, but Avalon shook him off. "Av-"

"I'm _fine_ Billy, ok?!" Avalon's eyes flashed and she put her phone back into her pocket. "God!" Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket she started speed-walking. Bailey twisted her mouth to the side, glancing at Billy out of the corner of her eye. She could say something then and everything would be OK, they would find a way to get back on their feet, their friends would support them…

If that were the case, then why was so afraid to say anything?

That was an obvious answer. If she revealed Avalon's involvement with the Vipers they would be in a lot of trouble. The police could come…they could be shunned by the rangers…there was no mistaking the danger of it all. The High-Flyers had already found out where they lived and were probably watching them every second of every day. Who knew when the next time they were going to come around…school maybe? At the park? Any time they let their guard down was bad enough.

Bailey sighed and stopped when they reached Angel Grove middle school. Looking up at the brick building, she saw Fred sitting on a bench on the front lawn, backwards hat ever present on his was still the only real friend that she had at the school, and she was grateful for that. But how long could you keep a big secret from your friends? Not only her home life, but the power rangers. _Av is lucky that her friends are rangers too,_ Bailey thought as she waved to Billy and Avalon and started across the grass towards him. _They can all keep the secret together. I'm all alone here._

"Hey, Bailey," Fred said when he noticed Bailey approaching. He closed the notebook he had been holding and rested it against his legs.

"Hey, Fred," Bailey replied with a smile. She stopped in front of him and hitched her backpack up her shoulders. "What's up?"

"Just taking some notes for our project," Fred replied. "You know, we should be getting started on that soon."

"I know, I know." Bailey sucked in a short breath. "I've just been busy." _If you count working at the Command Center nearly every day busy, then yeah._ She shook her head. "We'll get started soon, mate, I promise. No worries."

"I'm not worried," Fred said confidently. He stood up and smiled down at her. "Because I have the best partner that anyone could ask for."

Bailey gave him the side-eye. "You're just saying that so I can get you an A," she accused.

"I'm saying it because it's true," Fred corrected her. He stretched his arms over his head, turning around and starting to walk towards the school. A groan escaped his lips and he rubbed his shoulder. "Are your arms sore? Tommy's really been working us to death," he complained. Bailey laughed lightly, rolling her eyes at him.

"Can the big, strong man not take it?" She teased. "It's called martial arts for a reason, Fred. You're working your whole body with all of your muscles learning how to be self-disciplined as well as teaching you how to defend yourself." Her face distorted as pain shot up her arm as well. Fred noticed and laughed lightly. "Yeah, I'm a little sore, too," she agreed. The two went into the school and went to their locker bay. As their last names started with 'K' and 'M' they weren't too far away from each other. "But you're improving a lot, even though you've only been training with us for a couple of weeks. Tommy says so anyway."

"Sweet!" Fred took off his hat and placed it in his locker along with his backpack. Reaching up, he started to gather his school books.

"What is your fixation on Tommy, anyway?" Bailey's nose wrinkled.

"He's just a cool guy," Fred defended himself. "He's good at martial arts, he's funny, he has girls chasing after him-"

"Should have known girls had something to do with it." Bailey rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the pang that shot through her chest. "All you boys are alike that way." Something colorful flashed out of the corner of her eye and Bailey turned to find it. The smile dropped from her face when she spotted a familiar looking purple and white letterman jacket on one of her classmates. She felt the color draining from her face, knowing it was the calling card of a High-Flyer. But there was no way there'd be one at her school…right? "Fred, who's that?"

"Who?" Fred leaned out of his locker and looked over at the guy. "Oh, that's Kenny." Bailey looked back at Fred as he lowered his voice, leaning towards her. Close enough so that she could see the reckless that dotted his face. "He doesn't have a good home life; he has to take care of his mother."

"What about the jacket?" She practically breathed.

Fred shrugged. "He must be part of that gang that terrorizes the city. I've seen some of their graffiti around, and there's a rumor that they're the one that have been breaking into all of those rich houses."

 _You're wrong on that one,_ Bailey thought. Instead, all she said was "oh," and closed her locker door. "C'mon, we're going to be late for math class." Fred nodded and picked up his backpack as well and the two walked to class just as the teacher was closing the door. Giving a sheepish smile, the two slipped through the door and went to their seats. Bailey sat down and opened her math notebook to a blank page. She started to take notes on the problems that were on the board:

a + 7 = - 10 , what, then, is the value of a?

Solve this problem… 8g + 2 + 4g - 2 - 3g = ?

Easy stuff. She could do that in her sleep.

Instead, Bailey flipped to a blank page, next to the notes that she had taken about the power rangers before finding out her sister was one, and started a new page. She wrote down everything she knew about the Vipers and the High-Flyers, and stated a new bullet point: _Kenny – kid in my class. High-Flyers or wears similar jacket? If he is a High-Flyer, is he watching me or is it just a coincidence? Better keep an eye out just I case._ Sighing, Bailey closed her notebook and tried to focus on the rest of the lesson. That's what she was, a twelve year old smart girl that was the technical advisor to the power rangers and a girl that was trying to keep her big sister out of trouble. Instead of talking on the phone and going to sleepovers, she was saving the world.

How messed up was that?

Before Bailey knew it, the bell had rung and the class filed out of the room to get to their next one. Bailey had barely stepped foot out the door when she heard screaming and turned to see Z-Putties running up the hallway towards her.

"What the heck?" She cried, backing up a step and bumping into Fred, who was standing behind her.

"What are those things?" Fred glanced over at Bailey.

"Dunno, but we should probably—"Bailey cut herself off as a putty reached out and grabbed onto her arm. It pulled her forward and threw her to the ground. _Why are they attacking during school?_ Bailey brought her arms up in front of her face as the putty tried to grab her again. She knocked it off her and swung her legs, kicking its own out from underneath, knocking him over. Bailey scrambled to her feet, the weight of her backpack spinning her around, allowing her to shoot out her fist and hit another putty in the middle of the chest as it leapt towards her. The Z-Putty disintegrated into thin air, creating a pile of sand at her feet.

"Kiya!"

Turning around, Bailey watched as Fred used the martial arts moves that Tommy showed them to knock back some of the Z-Putties that were converging on them. Smiling to herself, Bailey turned to the putties that were making their way up to her. "Hiya!" Moving onto her left foot, Bailey twisted around and drove an elbow into a Z-Putty. Ducking under the outstretched arms of another and leaned back, kicking another n the chest. Fred was knocked to the floor beside her, but used a kip-up to rocket himself onto his feet and drove them forward into another putty. The two fought side by side, driving putties back away from them as students ran around, trying to get to safety. Bailey fought with all of her strength, trying to her hardest not to get grabbed, having watched many fights with the power rangers she knew how easily she could be taken up to the Lunar Palace if she or Fred had been caught.

After a few minutes of fighting, there was only one putty left. She and Fred looked at each other before spinning on the balls of their left feet and driving their right one into the putty's side, sending it flying and crash into the wall. It had been like Tommy said; aiming the force of the strike into someone's stomach would deliver the strongest blow as the stomach was one of the weaker points on someone's body. As the putty lay on the ground, Bailey moved forward and drove her heel down into the 'Z' that sat in the middle of the putties chest.

It turned into sand and the hallway was clear.

Fred, breathing heavily, stood by Bailey's side, wiped sweat off his forehead, surveying the small piles of sand that littered the hallway.

"What was that?" He finally asked.

Mutely, Bailey shook her head.

* * *

 

Avalon and Billy walked the rest of the way to school in silence. Anytime Billy tried to talk to Avalon, she would snap at him before becoming cold and shutting him out, ignoring him all together. Billy decided not to try and the two walked in silence until they reached the school. Avalon immediately broke away and went to her locker. She sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping. She really did feel bad for what she was doing to Billy, acting like his best friend and helping him get through his fear of water at one point then after the weekend ended and they were going back to school, she acted like he didn't want to be around him. Pushing him away and becoming as cold and dark as she was when she first met them.

 _It's just a good way to make sure they don't get too close,_ Avalon thought as she looked at her phone. _Just so Chase and the others don't get to em'…so they're not put in even more danger…_ Glancing at the screen of her phone, Avalon used her free hand to pull open her locker door.

"Ow!" On the other side, Zack back peddled a few paces, holding onto the bridge of his nose. Avalon slowly pushed the door shut and merely glanced at him before turning back to her books dismissively. "What'd I ever do to you, Av?" He joked.

"You were born for one," she muttered in reply.

Zack frowned, lowering his hand. "Who pissed in your corn flakes this morning?" Avalon's eyes narrowed as her phone buzzed again. She tilted her head back and let out a groan that sounded like a cry of pain and that she was on the verge of tears. In fact, she could feel her eyes get that familiar pinprick feeling, letting her know that she was about to cry. She hadn't cried in a long time, only when she thought about her parents some time ago. Avalon brought her head down to her hands, feeling them shake.

They were cold and clammy.

_Why me?_

"Are you ok?" Zack asked, his voice laden with concern.

"I'm fine," Avalon said in a low, cool tone, bringing her hands away from her face. "I wish everyone would stop asking me that." Avalon reached up and turned off her phone, practically throwing it and her backpack into her locker, ignoring the watermelon flavored Ring Pop that sat on the top shelf. "God, you lot are so annoying."

"Why are you being so…"

"So _what_?" Avalon closed her locker door and turned to him, her eyes flashing.

"So…weird?" Zack finally managed. "You're…not acting like yourself."

"Whatever," Avalon said quickly. Subconsciously, she placed a hand on the side of her face, pressing at the area her bruise had once been. The swelling and bruising had finally gone down, enough so that you only saw a tiny bit of discoloring if she wasn't wearing makeup. "It's whatever." She glanced back at her phone, feeling her features warp into an expression of worry. Seeing Zack's gaze still on her, she bent her head, allowing her hair to fall over her face. _Get it together, Av. You're ruining everything!_ Once she was sure her face was blank, she looked up at Zack again. But he had turned and greeted Kimberly, Trini, Tommy, and Jason who were walking over, along with Billy. Avalon caught Billy's gaze and looked away, feeling shame wash over her. _Oh bollocks._

"Hey!" Kimberly greeted, as cheerful as ever. "Are you guys ready for your presentation today?"

"Totes," Avalon said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's going to be rad." She gave an overly exaggerated thumbs up before dropping her arm to her side, chewing her lower lip. For whatever reason, she couldn't shake that there was something wrong…like something was going to happen. _I should check on Bailey._

"Our project is slammin' but I'm not sure about yours." Zack slung an arm around Jason's shoulders. "What's _your_ project about? Dresses and Purses and how they all should match our shoes?" He stuck out his foot and wiggled it around.

Jason rolled his eyes and laughed. "Sounds like something you know a lot about, Zack." He pushed Zack's arm off his shoulders and put his around Zack's. "Is there, uh, something you want to tell us?" Zack gave a sarcastic laugh and turned away from Jason. He noticed Billy and Trini standing beside each other and grinned for a moment before bringing a hand up to his mouth and coughing, "hold her hand!" into his fist.

Kimberly reached out and smacked Zack on the arm, giving him a warning look.

"At least you guys have projects," Tommy said. His upper lip curled, glancing towards the ceiling. "I couldn't get Bulk and Skull to do crap. I'm thinking of asking Ms. Appleby to let me do a project by myself, even if it docks my grade."

"You should," Kimberly agreed with her boyfriend. She placed a hand on his shoulder, giving the white ranger a charming smile. "I'll help you if you need it."

"Yeah, Bulk and Skull can really be such jerks sometimes," Trini added.

Avalon's upper lip curled as she listened to her friends. How could they do it? How could they be so happy and nonchalant with each other all the time? Did anything ever bother them? Didn't they have their own problems? Big problems, not like those tiny things that can easily be solved but teenagers usually did nothing but gripe about?

"They're not that bad," Avalon said. "Really, if you got to know them, they aren't. Just because they do jerky things doesn't mean they _are_ jerks. What if they're having a tough time at home? Have you thought of that?" At the stunned silence she got in reply, Avalon closed her eyes, turning her head away, clenching her hands into fists. She could feel herself starting to tap into the power energy, knowing that her hands were starting to glow orange. _Calm down, Av. Calm down._ Avalon opened her eyes, careful to keep her dark brown eyes away from the other rangers. "Come on." Turning on her heel, she walked towards the classroom, her boots clomping with each step. Her head raced with a million thoughts; _I need money to pay for rent, we may be evicted soon, what's going to happen then? Will Bailey hate me? I've put her through so much already. I need to get Chase off my back. I need to focus on one thing. But which one? Being a power ranger or trying to keep my head above water? When will there be a time I didn't have to choose between being selfish and selfless?_

Avalon dropped down into her desk, placing her backpack on the floor. Curling over her desk, Avalon rested her chin in her hand, her eyes moving down to her 'V' tattoo. She remembered the day she had gotten it. She left Bailey at the apartment, telling her under no circumstances that she was allowed to open the door, then went with Chase. She remembered the way the place smelled like cleaning supplies, how Chase stood by her side, grinning down at her as she held her arm out, the coolness of the prep against her wrist, and the pain she felt when the needle first went into her skin. She remembered feeling Chase's hand on her shoulder, comforting at the time, squeezing her, the warmth in his eyes when she presented him with the tattoo.

She had worked so hard for his approval and now…

Avalon shook her head, looking up, staring right at the board as the other rangers filed into the classroom. Billy took his seat to her right, Jason in front of her, Tommy behind her, and Trini to her left. Even surrounded by all of her friends, the people that had been nothing but nice to her since she had met them, she felt lonely. Ms. Appleby moved out from behind her desk and started class. Avalon tried to pay attention, but found herself zoning out pretty quickly, her cheek in her hand, turned towards the windows in the classroom. It was a beautiful day, not too warm, not too cold, and here she was, stuck inside wondering what was going to happen in her near future.

A knock came at the door, jolting her out of her reverie.

She, along with the rest of the class, looked over at the door and watched as the door opened and Chase stepped inside. Avalon's eyes widened and she could feel herself going pale. Jason twisted around in his seat to exchange a glance with Zack before looking at Avalon, who looked like she wanted the ground to open up underneath her.

"Yes?" Ms. Appleby turned to him. "May I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm Avalon's brother and I need to see her," Chase said smoothly. Avalon tried to keep her face straight as well eyes moved to her. "It's a bit of a family emergency." He bobbed his head back and forth. "Her father's sick and her mother called for her."

"Oh my." Ms. Appleby moved a hand to cover her mouth before turning to the orange ranger in concern.

 _Oh Christ,_ Avalon thought.

"Avalon, you better get going."

Dutifully, Avalon got up from her seat and slowly gathered her things, trying to stall for time. Glancing at Chase out of the corner of her eye, she could see his lower jaw tighten as he watched her, knowing she was purposefully taking her time with it. She could practically feel him glaring, burning holes into her skin. She walked out the door as Jason leaned forward, watching as the door closed.

"I didn't know she had a brother," Kimberly uttered. Billy and Trini exchanged glances and shifted in their seats.

"She doesn't," Zack murmured. He glanced back at the door before exchanging glances with Jason again. Jason chewed his lower lip for a moment, tapping his pen against the top of his desk. His eyes shifted back and forth for a minute, mentally trying to figure out what to do.

"Hey." Tommy, sitting on Jason's other side, reached out and tapped his arm. Jason glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "What's up? You're really tense."

"Nothing," Jason whispered back.

He made the decision then and there not to say anything, not when his suspicions hadn't been completely confirmed. However, this did prove that there was something between Chase and Avalon and if had anything to do with why Chase had been so suspicious looking with his group of friends. He had thought about it for a long time and while he couldn't come up with a composite reason, he knew something was up. Especially the way Chase had nodded at him, as if he knew who he was. Maybe he did. Who knew what went around when they weren't saving Angel Grove?

 _But you're not the leader anymore._ The thought caused Jason to pause. He wasn't the leader of the power rangers anymore, not since Tommy had become the white ranger. He had been happy about it at the time, the pressure had been immense and he personally took each blow the rangers got if something didn't go his way. If he had done this then….if he had done that then…

However, it wasn't long until Jason started to feel a little bit of resentment towards Tommy. He had just joined the team and was now expected to be a leader to them all if he hadn't had a lot of experience fighting against Rita and Zedd to the extent the others had? Every now and then Jason wanted to call Tommy out on whatever he did wrong in a battle, but things usually turned out fine. Would it be that bad if he kept things between him and Zack while they waited to see what was really going on?

He had no idea.

Jason glanced at Zack once more, whose eyes were glued onto the door as well. Tommy glanced back at the pink, yellow, and blue rangers. Kimberly looked just as confused as Tommy did, Billy and Trini, on the other hand, didn't catch his gaze.

* * *

 

"What are you doing here, Chase?" Avalon held her backpack in her arms as she followed after him. "Last time you actually, willingly set foot in a school was when you were being kicked out." She placed her hand on her hip as Chase slowly whirled around to face her. He grinned, which was surprising as he never seemed to express anything other than anger, dominance, and anxiety. Bringing up an arm, he leaned it on the locker by Avalon's head and leaned in towards her.

"I have something for you," he finally said, his eyes flashing. "Something you've been asking for."

Avalon's face screwed up as she scrutinized him. "That really depends on what you're referring to and if you're referring to _me_ wanting _you_ , again, then you're mistaken."

Chase chuckled then pulled his hand out from his leather jacket pocket. Pinching his thumb and index finger together, he opened his fist, allowing a pearl necklace to fall from his hand and dangle towards the floor, his fingers holding one of the pearls tightly so that they didn't fall to the ground. He dangled them in front of Avalon's face as her eyes lit up.

"Kim's necklace," she breathed. "How'd you get it back?" Avalon reached out for it and Chase pulled it back out of her grasp with a quick snap of his arm.

"It doesn't matter how I got it back." The smile slid from his face, it being replaced by a stern expression. "What matters is that I have it and that you wanted it." He stood up straight, removing his arm from the locker bay. "And since you want it, I'm sure that there's something that you can do for me that will… _persuade_ me to give it to you."

"Give it _back_ , Chase!" Avalon darted towards it again. Chase snapped out a hand and pressed it against Avalon's throat, pushing her against a locker. Avalon glared at him, bringing her arms back down to her sides.

"I thought we made an agreement," he continued, starting to press his fingertips into her neck. "You pledge your loyalty to us,"—he used his other hand to grab onto her wrist and force it up, twisting her hand around until her tattoo faced him. Avalon let out a cry of pain—"and stop hanging out with those other dweebs."

Avalon bared her teeth, her eyes flashing as she raised her chin in defiance. _Don't let him get to you this time, Av._ "I kind of have to go to school with them," she pointed out. "It's not like I want to be here half the time anyway, boofhead."

"Then drop out!" Chase sneered at her. "Besides, we have too much stuff to do. And you, fringe, are starting to become a liability to me." Avalon sucked in a sharp breath as the word, fringe, escaped his lips. Everyone in the gang world knew that fringe was another word for a gang member that didn't show their loyalty as well as they wanted it to be shown. Someone the gang wasn't sure had their backs one hundred percent. How could he say that after everything they'd been through? After all of the hits she went on, after the plans she helped him pull off, after the defending she did of their territory. Everything he asked her to do, she did it. Was that not clear from the KFC that they just robbed?

"Starting to get scared?" She taunted and brought her arm back. On the downswing, Chase's hand loosened and she spun around, smacking him into the lockers herself. She slapped her hands onto his shoulders and dug her nails into him, smirking with satisfaction when Chase winced. "Think you're starting to lose your grip?"

Chase's upper lip curled, his snarl resembling that of a hostile dog. "Don't talk to me like that." He broke out of Avalon's grasp and latched onto her hair, bringing her back around, into a locker. Avalon cried out, losing her breath, the stinging of the cold metal absorbing into her body. She brought up a knee and hit him in the balls, causing Chase to stumble back, his hands moving to cup his crotch. Avalon then took the chance to headbutt him seconds before he retaliated.

Their fight echoed through the halls as Avalon and Chase battled for dominance over each other. Chase blocked a punch Avalon sent his way, twisting her arm back. "If I knew it'd take this to get you to listen, I would have tried it ages ago." Chase let go of Avalon's hand and backed away from her. The orange ranger moved her hair off her forehead. "Nice job, Pinky."

"I'm a Viper, Chase, what d'you expect?" Avalon returned. She knew. He expected her to want ot up and leave, to prove to him what he had worried about. Chase certainly was as cracked as she though; he put a lot of trust in her, yet he didn't trust her at the same time. Some time ago, she had ruined that trust with him, she could admit that. She just wished he would stop popping up all over the place and making her constantly choose between who or what was going to get more of her attention. "I proved I wanted to be with you guys, and I'm going to be with you guys."

"Good."

Chase held out his hand, dangling the pearl necklace towards her. Avalon reached out to take it. The sound of footsteps rounding the corner caught her attention and she saw Jason and Zack walking their way. _Great._ "What are you guys doing out here?"

"We just wanted to be sure that you were OK," Zack replied. Jason though, kept quiet his eyes on Chase. Chase lowered his arm, looking back at him. "Are you?"

Avalon raised and lowered her right shoulder in a shrug. "No worries." Holding out her hand, she motioned towards Chase. "This is my…." Her face screwed up. "This is Chase…Chase, this is Zack and Jason."

"Hey." Chase nodded again.

"What's up?" Zack gave him an obvious once over.

"How do you know Avalon?" Jason crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. Chase raised an eyebrow. Avalon made a scoffing sound.

"Protective," Zack sang under his breath.

Jason ignored him, turning back to Chase. Chase merely blinked at him then smiled. This kid had a lot of guts, standing up to him like that. Most of the time, whenever someone looked at him, they were right in becoming anxious, ducking their head and moving faster. Others gave him a wide berth on the sidewalk or turned and walked in the other direction. But this guy didn't seem intimidated in the slightest. Chase didn't know if that was a good or bad thing, but he made a mental note of it. "Oh me and Pinky go _way_ back." He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. "I met her when she first came to Angel Grove and we've been…acquaintances since."

"So what was the line about being her brother?"

"I'm sure not many teachers would have liked knowing that someone that went to their school just waltzed in here," Chase pointed out, his eyes scanning the hallways. "There isn't great security here, by the way. A psycho with a gun could come in here and…" he trailed off. Avalon elbowed him in the side. "There was a family emergency though, her Dad's sick."

"I thought her Mom was sick," Jason pointed out.

Chase waved a hand. "Someone's sick, I just needed to give her the message."

Jason turned his gaze to Avalon. "…I thought your parents were on a business trip."

Avalon's lips twitched for a moment as she racked her brain. She wasn't sure what she told _anyone_ anymore. All she knew was this had to stop. Now. "They were." Avalon ran a hand through her hand, she was trembling. "But they just got back. I think they got sick on the plane or something, you know how gross those cabins are." Her face was apathetic in that moment, not helping her cause. She turned to Chase. "Leave," she said under her breath. "Now."

"No problem, Pinky."

Chase turned on his heel and walked out of the hallway.

"Pinky?" Zack repeated.

"Long story," Avalon dismissed. She looked at them for a moment. "What are you two doing out here, anyway?"

"We were worried and came to see if you were OK," Zack said. He motioned between himself and Jason. "Both of us," he re-iterated, giving a small smile. Avalon's eyebrow rose although her face softened as she started to walk towards them.

"Really?" She hugged her arms to her chest before coming to a stop in front of the black and red rangers. Her lips pulled up into a tiny smile. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Jason finally said. He tore his gaze from Chase's retreating form and looked Avalon over. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" The apprehension in his voice was not lost on the orange ranger. She tilted her head to the side, moving her hair from her face, allowing both of her dark eyes to lock onto his in a hypnotizing gaze.

"Uh, no?" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Why would he-"

She was cut off by Zack suddenly grabbing onto her arm and turning her the other way. As Avalon turned around, she saw Putties heading hers, Zack's, and Jason's way. The three immediately fell into a fighting stance as a warning bell sounded. Soon the halls around them were filled with thudding footsteps, anxious cries, and slamming doors. "What are putties doing here?" Zack questioned as the three continued to back up, the putties heading their way.

"Maybe Rita finally got smart," Jason pointed out. "Attacking us when we can't morph." He shook his head. "I hate to admit it, but that was a good move on her part."

"What are we going to do?"

"Guys!" Kimberly's voice sounded down the hall. She, Billy, Trini, and Tommy ran after them, but all stopped short when they spotted the Z-Putties. "Uh oh!"

"Quick, to the cafeteria!" Tommy instructed. "We'll have more space there!"

The rangers turned and fled up the hallway, running as fast as they could as the putties chased after them. Once they entered the cafeteria they all split up and started to attack the putties with anything that was at their disposal.

Kimberly climbed on top of a table and kicked and punched at any putty that came her way. Using the table as balance beam, she flipped and cart wheeled away from those that tried to grab her. Going down into a split, she kicked two putties in the face, and then did a back flip, getting back to her feet. Glancing up, she noticed a low hanging bar that was used to feet water to the sprinkler and grabbed onto it. "I hope you're ready for this." She swung back and forth a few times, using her bar routine to continue hitting putties with the tips of her toes and the heels of her feet. Once all of the putties were defeat, she flipped to the ground, raising her arms over her head in a perfect gymnastics stance.

Avalon leapt over the serving area as a putty reached for her. It flew over her head and crashed onto the floor behind her. Grabbing it by the head, she lifted him up and smashed his face into the glass sneeze guard then flipped it around so it landed on the tray line. "Price check!" With all of her strength, she pushed the putty down the tray line, his momentum sending him to the floor. She rolled back over the serving area and, standing on the tray line, grabbed another putty by the arm and viciously heaved him to the floor before using the hell of her boot to crush his chest, causing it to disintegrate. Movement caught her eye and she saw the other putty getting off the ground. With a running start down the tray line, Avalon jumped and kicked the putt in the chest, causing it to disintegrate as well. Breathing heavily, she grabbed onto the tray line for support as her head swam.

Jason and Tommy fought back to back as their martial arts styles complemented each other. As they fought one putty, they trade off blows with the putty. Once Jason landed a blow on the putty, he would whirl around, giving Tommy the space to grab it by the arm, to block another hit, and drive a knee up into the putty's chest. Now with Jason facing a putty, he fended it off with a series of kicks to its face before giving it a corkscrew kick, knocking the putty back onto the ground as it turned into dust in the same moment.

Billy rolled over a table as he was about to get kicked, then rolled back the other way when a putty converged upon him. "Looks like I'm surrounded." He flipped to his feet and grabbed onto a tray that was filled with food and flung it, like a boomerang, at the putties head, knocking it onto his back. Bill jumped off the table and punched his foot down onto the Z plate, the force of his hit causing him to smack his knuckles into the floor. He heard a distinct cracking sound and winced, pulling his hand back to massage his knuckles. Grabbing another stack of trays that sat on the table, Billy grabbed the empty plates and flung them like Frisbees into other putties' chest, mentally calculating the trajectory for the perfect flight, knocking them out one by one.

Trini reached over and grabbed the locking mechanism on a table and pulled it up, using her speed to fold up a table locking two putties inside, destroying them. She then turned around and balance her weight on the table to climb backwards up it, lashing out her feet and fists when she got the chance, to knock down others that were reaching for her. "Back off!" Trini flipped off the top of the table and extended both of her arms, hitting the remaining putties in the chest.

Zack laughed as he continued to dance back and forth behind pillars that were situated around the cafeteria for the different classes to post notices on. The putties continued to chase Zack around the pillars though he was always out of their reach. "Don't feel bad," Zack reassured them. "Just get with the groove." He did a quick kick-ball change before doing a flip and driving a fist into a putty's chest. Using the elbow of his other arm, he hit a putty in the face, causing it to stumble back into a pillar. Zack turned, placed a hand on the floor, and swung his body up in a freeze, his leg hitting the putty in the chest.

The seven rangers all converged together on the remaining putties that backed up away from them, then disappeared in a flash of light.

"That was so strange," Kimberly said. She shook her head, looking at the rest of the rangers. "Why would they do that?"

"Better question is, why would Rita and _Zedd_ do that," Trini pointed out. She rubbed her wrist, where the force of trying to hold herself to the table took a toll on her. "They've never attacked while we were at school before."

"I don't know." Tommy shook his head. "We should get to the Command Center and figure all this out."

"Maybe it was a distraction," Billy said. He brought a hand up to his chin and stared hard at the ground. "A way to divert us from another location. They've done it before." He looked to the side, hearing Avalon take in a breath of air and stumble slightly. She reached out and grabbed onto his arm, the other hand on her knees as she bent over. "Av?"

"Billy…" she barely whispered. She closed her eyes, her vision swimming in front of her. Everything was tilting this way and that, her chest felt as if there was a crushing weight on it. She tried to open her eyes again, but they only opened about half way. She fell to her knees, Billy catching her so that she didn't crash to the ground.

"Oh my god, is she, like ok?" Kimberly knelt down by her side, her hands gently laying on Avalon's arm.

"We should get the nurse," Trini added. Tommy nodded at her and the two hurried from the cafeteria.

"Is she going to be ok?" Zack asked anxiously as he and Jason kneeled by her side as well.

"She should be," Billy said, pressing a finger into her arm. "Her vitals are strong, I just think she's exhausted." He backed up a few paces. "She's showing the outward signs. We need to give her room for air. Does anyone have anything we can use as a pillow?" Jason pulled off his hoodie and balled it up handing it over to the blue ranger who placed it under Avalon's head.

"Billy." Kimberly laughed. "You're wearing a jacket around your waist."

"Oh, yeah." Billy untied the jacket and balled it up, placing it on top of Jason's hoodie to elevate Avalon's head even further. He studied his friend, frowning as she seemed to battle sleep, her eyelids fluttering. No matter how mad she was at him, how upset she was that morning, he didn't want to see her hurt.

Avalon's eyes moved around at everyone that sat around her, though not seeming to focus on anyone. Finally, her eyes landed on Kimberly and they seemed to focus for a moment before she moved her arm.

Kimberly felt something nudging against her hand and looked down to see Avalon gently pushing her closed fist against it. She was bumping her hand, like that of a puppy trying to get their owner's attention. Kimberly's eyebrows knitted together for a moment, looking back at Avalon's face. Avalon looked back at her, not blinking, then lifted her hand, pressing it on top of Kimberly's, gently moving her nails over the back of the pink ranger's hand. Kimberly turned her hand over and Avalon pressed hers into Kim's, opening her hand. When the orange ranger pulled her hand back, the pink ranger gasped at what was dropped into her hand. She studied the pearls carefully, taking in each one until she got to the last one on the right of the clasp, there was a slight discolored spot, just like on hers.

"My necklace!" Kimberly gasped. "How…?"

She looked down at the orange ranger as her eyes closed, then put the pearl necklace in her pocket. That wasn't what mattered then, they needed to be sure her friend was ok. And Kimberly was positive that Avalon would bounce back, she always did.

She just couldn't shake the nagging feeling that came over her, a feeling that didn't go away until the next morning when she figured it all out.


	24. Home Is Where The Heart Is

**Chapter 24**

_Home Is Where the Heart Is_

"I'm still saying it was weird those gray…putty things were only attacking the Angel Grove Middle and High school," Fred said, slouching down in his seat. He removed his hat from his head, ran a hand through his hair, then replaced it. "I mean, everyone in Angel Grove knows Rita doesn't ever really attack schools."

Bailey lowered her hand from her mouth, where she had been chewing on her fingernail. She glanced up as a doctor walked by, perking up, waiting to see if there was going to be any news about Avalon. From what Bailey was told when the apartment as called, the Angel Grove High nurse had taken one look at her sister and saw there wasn't anything dangerously wrong with her, but thought it would be best if she went to the hospital to get formally checked out. At first, Bailey was confused, wondering how her sister, who was the strongest person she knew, could have collapsed like that, and then figured it had to have been another putty attack. It wasn't a coincidence the middle school was attacked, everyone was sent home, and then the high school was attacked as well. It was definitely a power rangers thing.

"Well, let's be honest here, Rita doesn't ever actually make sense with what she attacks," Bailey pointed out. "I mean, she has monsters that can be created from anything, so I don't know how much merit you have there." She brought her hand back up to her mouth, starting to chew on the nail again. "I wonder where the others are," she murmured. After having gotten called by the school, where Bailey interrupted the call, making the excuse her mother was in the shower and her father was out. She then got the phone book and looked up Fred's name, calling him and asking if he could give her a ride to the hospital.

"Who's in the hospital?" Fred had asked his voice filling with concern.

Bailey blinked for a second, hesitating before replying. He sounded so worried about it. But he didn't even know who her sister, he only knew Tommy and Jason, officially, but had heard about the others. "My sister, something happened at school. And my mum and dad are at work so…" she then slapped herself on the forehead. That was the worst thing she could say. What kind of parents did they sound like? They couldn't go get their daughter because they were too busy working? She could have said they were on their way to the hospital _from_ work and she was left there alone. "I mean-"

"I get it, don't worry," Fred reassured her. He thought for a moment. "Um, my Dad's at work too, he's a construction worker, so it can be hard to reach him when he's on sight. But, I can come over to your place or we can meet at a bus stop and go ourselves."

"Ok." Bailey let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "I can do that. Thanks Fred." Then she had hung up the phone, searched around for some money, got the keys to the apartment and was stepping out the door when she spotted an envelope lying at her feet. She had crushed a corner of it, the crinkling noise catching her attention. Bending at the knees, Bailey picked up the envelope. She turned it open and ran her finger along the seam, gently pressing into the sides as she did so. There was definitely some sort of letter in there, not to thick, not too thin. Bailey turned it back around, her eyebrows rising when she spotted the name of their landlord.

Bailey then walked back to the living room and leaned against the windowsill, pressing the envelope up to the window. Everyone knew if you angled an envelope at the right angle, you could see through the envelope and read what was inside. She had read many bank statements and things her parents probably wouldn't have wanted her to see when they were still back home. It was how she knew at one point her parents had thought about letting her skip a couple of grades because of her academic accomplishments. They were dumbfounded when she had gone up to them and firmly told them she didn't want to skip, she wanted to stay with her friends as long as she could. Who knew a couple years later she would be plopped on a plane, shipped off to California, and not have anyone meet her and her sister when they landed.

What could go wrong now?

Bailey's dark eyes squinted against the filtering sunlight and she turned the envelope this way and that. She was only able to make out the words: _Final Notice_ and while it was all she could read, she knew what it meant. They were being kicked out. What other reason was there to get a letter from the landlord? She knew they hadn't had much money the past couple of weeks, especially considering the clothes that needed to be bought, the food, and all of the bills that had to be paid. You only had so much time to brush off the rent before it came back to bite you in the ass. On one hand, Bailey was proud of her sister and extremely grateful, knowing everything she was doing was only for her, but an even greater part of her was angry all of this was happening; especially knowing things would be better if they just told someone what was going on.

With a shriek, releasing everything she had kept inside, everything she had felt about the situation, and ripped up the letter. Who cares if they could pay it now? It wouldn't help anything. They were still going to be kicked out. Bailey had then gathered her things and left the apartment, taking her phone with her, to meet Fred at the bus stop. She had been noticeably quiet the whole way to the hospital and, thankfully, he didn't press her to talk. Now he had broken the silence, bringing up the putty attacks. Bailey had to admit, it was weird, they couldn't not hear about Angel Grove High being attacked as well, it was all over the radio the bus driver had set it too. The passengers around them were murmuring about it as well.

The real question was where were the power rangers to help the students at the schools?

 _They were stuck inside, they couldn't morph without anyone finding out their secret,_ Bailey had thought.

"I'm sure they're going to be here soon, Bailey, don't worry." Fred reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, then made a low grunting sound and brought his arm back. Bailey moved her eyes over to him. "Sorry, one of those putty things knocked me into a locker and it still hurts."

Bailey laughed quietly. "It's ok." Him just being there made her feel a little bit better. She just wished a doctor would come out and finally tell her how Avalon was doing. She looked up at the sound of footsteps and leapt out of her seat as the other rangers headed her way. "Hey guys," She greeted them. "The doctor hasn't said anything about Av yet, but I think she's going to be OK."

"That's good to hear," Trini said with a smile. She motioned to the flowers resting her hands. "Sorry we're late, I stopped at the gift shop to get her something." She shrugged. "I mean, we know she's not sick but…" she trailed off her eyes moving over to Fred.

"Right," Tommy spoke up. He walked over to Fred and the two did a strange handshake none of the others had seen before. Something about smacking their forearms and their fists together along with giving a high-five…"Guys this is Fred Kelman. He's been taking some classes with me and Bailey."

"Hi Fred," Kimberly greeted him politely.

"It's nice to meet you man," Zack added.

"We just wish it was under better circumstances," Billy continued.

"Hi." Fred smiled and nodded at the other rangers before motioning over to the chairs that rested against the pale, hospital walls. They were green, the only color that filled the otherwise white washed hallways. The walls were white, the floors were white, the ceilings were white, and the lights were white. It would be creepy if it wasn't depressing. "We were just waiting to see what the doctors were going to say, they haven't come back yet. Otherwise, we were saying how weird it was the putties had attacked our schools."

"Wait." Tommy held up a hand. "They attacked the middle school?"

"Yeah," Bailey confirmed. "From what I can understand with the new reports, they attacked our school before they attacked yours." Her eyes shifted, strategically looking away from the older teenagers as they exchanged worried glances. She could tell from their looks they were thinking the same thing she had thought; Rita wasn't going to let them keep their secret identities much longer. _Maybe that's not a bad thing. Maybe everything would be better after all of these secrets are out…_ She shook her head, now chewing her lower lip. All that mattered at the moment was that Avalon was ok.

"Man, who would have thought Rita would become so underhanded," Tommy said. He shook his head. "Trying to lure out the rangers by attacking little kids?"

"That's, like, the lowest thing she could ever do," Kimberly added. Her pretty face was screwed up in an expression of extreme displeasure. She always had a way of connecting with kids of all ages and with different backgrounds and interests, building up their self-esteem as she worked with them. She even had a girl in one of her dance classes who was deaf she helped teach that being different wasn't a problem and now she was one of the more popular girls in her class, because of her positive attitude and her determination to overcome adversity. "Who knows what else she's capable of?"

"I'm sure the power rangers will find a way to stop her," Fred said helpfully.

"Yeah, we hope so," Zack agreed.

Fred smiled and nodded. He looked at his watch before picking up his backpack as it lay tucked underneath a chair. "I'm sorry, Bailey. But I have to get going. Tell your sister I hope she feels better." Bailey nodded, distracted. Fred hitched his backpack over his shoulders, waved to the rangers, and walked away from the waiting area. Bailey watched until he turned the corner before turning back to the rangers. "So what happened?" she asked quietly.

"The putties attacked and we were doing fine then," Trini said. "But…Avalon collapsed after it." She brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Of course we couldn't tell them what really happened, but there was something I didn't get…" she played with the ends of her hair, a deep frown gracing her beautiful features. She was the kind of girl you never wanted to see upset or frown; her face always needed to have a smile on it. It matched her personality, friendly and compassionate. "If she's stronger than us, if she has those extra abilities, why was she the only one that's so tired?"

 _Because she's always running around with other people, trying to keep everything separate, trying to please everyone,_ Bailey thought. Guilt rocketed through her body. She felt sick.

"Maybe it's a side effect of the powers she has," Billy pointed out. He crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. "Maybe the fact she has two powers in her is what's inhibiting her from being able to use one part of it when she wants. The two powers combined may slowly be taking its toll on her as she tries to control it. And who knows what the power from the cube did to help or hinder those powers as well."

"But nothing seems to be going on with you," Kimberly reminded him.

"Not yet, anyway," Jason said, finally speaking up. He had been quiet ever since the rangers arrived, looking down at the floor. His face had been set in a serious expression, as if he had been running through every event, every fight they had gone through since they had first used the cube. The same time they had defeated Rita's and Zedd's first horoscope monster, Arieselle, at the homecoming dance. "We don't know if there are any other side effects that haven't shown up with Billy yet," he added. "We can't rule out any possible reasons or anything at this point."

"Yeah, but you also have to take into consideration we're just guessing what's going on," Kimberly reminded him. "We don't really have any answers and we shouldn't think we do."

"Kim's right," Trini agreed. "Right now, we should focus on seeing if Avalon's ok."

Bailey nodded and turned, sitting down on the chair again, her shoulders slumping, her lower lip sticking out in a slight pout. No matter how angry she was at Avalon, she just wanted her to be OK. Tommy reached out and ruffled Bailey's hair before patting her on the back in a comforting manner. Bailey gave him a slight smile before dropping her head again.

* * *

 

Avalon sighed, crossing her arms over her chest, drumming her fingers on her arm. An IV stuck out of the back of her hand, giving her body some nutrients as she waited to go home. She let out a frustrated sigh and started to rhythmically kick her feet, watching as the blanket made a tent then gently floated back down around her feet. "God, I hate it here," she murmured. She hated having to sit still, usually preferring to be on the go. _Figures Chase would high-tail it out of there when he had the chance._

That wasn't the only problem though, if anyone saw her bruises, if anyone saw her scars, there would be too many things thrown her way, too many questions she would have to answer. All she wanted was to get the OK and get out of there as soon as possible. Was that too much to ask? That things would go right for her for once? There was a brief knock on the door and Avalon sat up, her eyebrows lowered in a hard stare as a nurse poked her head into the door. "Miss. Mitchell, some people are here to see you. But they can't stay long."

"Well, I doubt I'm going to be here either," Avalon said quickly. "So why don't you just rip this thing out of my hand we'll call it a day, yeah?" She sat up, moving to climb out of the bed. The nurse walked over and placed a hand on Avalon's shoulder and forced her back down.

"You're not going anywhere until the morning, Miss. Mitchell," she said firmly. "If we don't take enough tests and you just get up and walk out of here and something else happens…" she trailed off then shrugged. "They can stay here a few minutes, but then you need to get some sleep, ok?"

"Where else am I going to go?" Avalon snapped. "Out the window?" She crossed her arms over her chest, and then winced when she pulled at the IV in her hand. She waved the sting off her hand and sighed again, moving her hair off her forehead as the door opened and the rangers walked in. Bailey pushed Tommy out of her way before hurrying over to her sister's side. "Hey Goober." Avalon opened her eyes and hugged her little sister tightly. "How's it going?" Her eyebrows then lowered. "Wait, how'd you get here?"

"I took a bus with Fred," Bailey explained.

Avalon nodded and leaned back against her pillows, her eyes moving to the rest of the rangers. "Did you guys find out why Rita launched the clay heads at the school?"

"No," Trini said. "Nothing else happened after they disappeared from the school." She walked over to Avalon's bedside table and placed the bouquet of flowers down on top. Sheepishly, she turned back to Avalon and shrugged. "I didn't have enough time to get a vase for them, but I hope you like them anyway."

"What girl doesn't like flowers?" Avalon replied.

"So what happened, kid?" Zack was standing by Avalon's head. He looked around at the monitors which were beeping quietly as well as the IV resting in the back of her hand. Her face was pale; otherwise she looked the same as she always did, determined and ready to take on the world. "You look like you're on the brink of death rather than passing out."

"Ah, the doctor's just said I'm exhausted," Avalon dismissed. "No big deal. I'm sure anyone that attacks putties time after time if bound to fall into it at some point or another." She noticed Kimberly and Trini exchange glances while Billy, Jason, Tommy, and Zack all looked away. "What?"

"We're just saying we've never had it happen before," Jason spoke up.

"And, no offense, but we've been doing this a lot longer than you have," Zack added. "So it doesn't really add up to why you were the only one who passed out."

Avalon shrugged again, looking away from the rangers. How was she going to explain this one? She let out a worrying groan, moving her hands to her forehead. After letting out a breath, she dropped them back down to her sides, staring hard at the ceiling.

"Are you ok?" Kimberly anxiously leaned over her side. "Do you have a headache? Is there anything we can do?"

"The only thing you can do is get her to tell the truth," Bailey suddenly spoke up. Silence settled over the room and all eyes turned towards the young girl. She was starting hard at her sister. Avalon stared back at her, very slowly, almost undetectably shaking her head. She lowered her eyebrows. _I'm warning you, Bay. Keep your mouth shut. Don't screw this up now._

"The truth about what?" Billy asked. "It's not like she knew what her extra powers were going to-"

"It's not her powers!" Bailey snapped. "Or _yours_ , Billy."

"Don't listen to her, Smurf, she doesn't know what she's talking about," Avalon said through gritted teeth. Her eyes flashed with blazing fury, a vein in her lower jaw was throbbing. Her hands clenched into fists, fingers twitching.

"It _not_ ," Bailey insisted. Her tone cracked with desperation. Avalon studied her sister and her heart sank. She could see the tears welling up in her sister's eyes; hear the desperation in her voice. She was close to cracking, Avalon could tell. "It's not her powers, it's something else."

"What is it?" Trini pressed. She ran a hand through her hair. "If it's something we should know…"

"Yeah, guys, like, we shouldn't keep secrets from each other." She then added quietly, "not at a time like this."

Avalon looked over at the pink ranger, eyeing her carefully. Kimberly looked back at her, something flashed across her face and Avalon closed her eyes, lowering her head. _She knows,_ Avalon thought. _She has to know. There's no other reason she hasn't asked about the necklace. She must have figured it all out._

"We don't even know if it's anything worth keeping a secret," Billy pointed out. "I'm thinking logically," he said, holding up his hands. "There are a million things the powers of being a power ranger can do to us we don't know."

"How about we just let her talk?" Jason suggested.

"How about we let _me_ talk?" Avalon spoke up.

All eyes turned to Tommy. His eyes shifted and he let out a sigh, knowing he was going to have to use his leadership position to make the final decision. There were a lot of things he wanted to know as well. Where was the best place to start?

 _Please don't, please._ Avalon mentally pleaded, knowing deep down she wasn't going to get her way for the first time in her life.

"Bailey," Tommy finally relented. "What are you trying to say?"

Avalon reacted quicker than Bailey could open her mouth to speak again. "Abigail," Avalon warned. Just that one word. Bailey's full name. No one knew Bailey's name was actually Abigail Mitchell, and Bailey was her middle name. She never liked to go by her first name and her whole family acknowledged her wishes not to be called it…unless she was in trouble. Avalon hoped the gravity of the situation was leveled in her voice so Bailey could understand.

"No!" Bailey shook her head and glared at her. "I'm sick and tired of having to live like this! Constantly wondering if we're going to be kicked out of our home or have protective services bust down our door or wondering if you're going to come back from fighting while being a ranger! I'm sick and tired of it, Av!"

Avalon's face contorted into a look of rage. She sat up, nearly launching herself out of the bed. In her haste, she pulled at the IV once more, immediately dropping back onto the bed. "BAILEY, SHUT UP!" Avalon roared.

"NO!" Bailey shouted back. "I'M NOT GOING TO LISETN TO YOU ANYMORE!"

"I swear to _God_ YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET THIS!" Avalon's throat burned with the effort of her yelling. She could feel a strong pinch behind her eyes; they started to well up with tears. Her heart thudded against her ribcage each time it didn't feel like someone was squeezing it in their fist, enjoying her torment and the way she was being tortured. Everything was coming back down on her. No. Everything she had built up was crashing back down around her and she only had a few moments to dodge out of the way as chunks of her lies and excuses aimed to smack her back in the face. "Bailey, I swear to God."

Bailey ignored Avalon and turned to the other rangers. "We're being evicted from our home!" Tears were falling down her cheeks. Avalon stood off to the side, glaring at the floor. "You know why? Because our father isn't around! Neither is our mother! Avalon and I have been living on our own for, about, three years now. We don't know where our parents are. We don't have any means to survive if we get kicked out. We're on our own! We need help and Av is too stubborn to ask for it." All the fight left Bailey and her shoulders slumped. She pulled off her glasses and wiped at her eyes. "But we need help or else things are going to get worse for us. I don't want something to happen; I don't want her to be taken from me."

Bailey was sobbing now, her words barely audible over her gasps for air and blubbering. "Avalon has always done everything she could to make sure our heads stayed above water but I don't think there's anything we can do now. I love you, Av, you know that. But you need to admit we can't live this way much longer."

There was a stunned silence.

No one knew what to say. Bailey's sobs turned to quiet tears. Avalon continued to look off to the side, glaring at the wall, not sure what to do or say. There was no point now; everyone knew what was going on. They knew their parents weren't around. That they were living on their own. That they were being kicked out. That they were, in all definitions of the word, alone.

No one else knew what to do either. One of their biggest secrets was now out in the open for everyone to know, and now things were going to change for better or worse.

Avalon sighed, her eyes moving around the room. They stopped on a small mirror which hung over the sink, opposite her bed. Started, she stared at her reflection and for the first time in a long time, realized how unhappy she really was.

Bailey was right, they _did_ need help.

Avalon briefly closed her eyes, allowing a tear drop to fall from her right eye and rolled down her cheek.

"You stole my necklace too, didn't you?" Kimberly asked. Avalon tore her eyes away from her reflection, an image of her real self, and locked eyes with Kimberly. "You broke into my house and stole my necklace."

Avalon twisted her mouth to the side. "Yes," she finally said. "But not for the reason you think," she added quickly. "I didn't know it was your house when I broke in the first time."

"You've done it more than once?" Tommy asked. Avalon could hear the disbelief and anger in his voice.

"Twice, actually," Avalon said quickly. "But, I didn't have a choice." Her voice took a desperate turn as she looked at the rangers around her. There wasn't a single friendly face for her to turn to. She looked at Billy, her eyes searching his. He stared back at her, a hurt and confused expression on his face. "If…if you'd just let me explain…"

"You deserve it," Jason said. There wasn't any hint of anger in his voice. In fact, he was the only one who sounded clear, like he was "There seems to be a lot about you we don't know. A lot of things we don't understand. We owe you a chance to be understood."

Avalon let out a sigh of relief. She felt a nudge on her arm and watched as Bailey climbed up onto the bed and snuggled up into her sister's side. Avalon gave a shaky smile and gave her sister a kiss on the forehead, putting an arm around her. She let out a heavy sigh then started her story. "I don't know what happened, but Bailey, Mum, Dad, and I had been living well in our home of Canberra, Australia. We were happy and I didn't sense anything wrong. But then, one day, Mum and Dad got into a fight and Mum left the house. Dad said there was nothing to worry about and Mum would be back soon. 'Soon' turned into months without her around and Dad starting to go crazy. He would lock himself in his office every time he came home, wouldn't come out for dinner; I think he slept in there, too. All he told us was Mum was sick and it was going to take a while for her to get better. He didn't specifically say why until I kept asking, and he finally said…she was a drug addict. At that point, I knew my priority was making sure Bailey didn't worry about what was going on, so I started to take care of her; make sure she went off to school, had her homework done, everything a parent would do. Then, one day, Dad told us to pack up our stuff and we were going to be moving out to California to live with our Aunt. Thing was, we didn't know we had an Aunt, had never heard of Angel Grove and didn't know where Mum was.

"But we did as we were told, packed up our stuff, got our passes to be unaccompanied minors, and flew out to Angel Grove. Unfortunately, Mum and Dad didn't keep up with our family very well because our Aunt, if we did have one, had moved and we had no idea what to do. I didn't want Bailey to be scared, knowing we had, essentially, just been abandoned, and had talked our way into staying at a homeless shelter for a couple of nights. Yeah, we got some weird looks and a lot of questions, otherwise people kept to themselves. It was around then I had started to talk to Chase. I met him when I was looking for some food, for a job, a play to stay, anything which would get us out of the shelter. I tried calling home, but our number had been disconnected and I had never known Dad's office number and I had no way of contacting them. I got scared; thinking they had abandoned us; my thoughts going from us being bad kids, to the just not being able to deal with it, I don't know. I still don't know why we were pushed away and frankly, I don't really want to know at this point. All I know is Chase was someone I could talk to. There was something…charismatic and magnetic about him I couldn't ignore.

"He told me he was making more money than he ever thought he would with a job and there was a group that worked along with him. In about a week's time, they could rack up over one thousand dollars with little to no effort." Avalon shook her head at her own stupidity. They always said hindsight was twenty-twenty and now she saw everything clearly, she knew there were a lot of different things she could have done to ease their situation. Calling the police was one thing, but back then, there had been a part of her that didn't want her father to get in trouble, especially considering how into the government he was. "I didn't know they were a gang at the time, but I found out quickly. Chase is the leader of the Vipers and there's Skye, Summer, and me. We're one clique in the gang. Meaning we're one small faction of the large gang, the Vipers." Avalon held out her hand, showing off her tattoo. "That's what this means. The tattoo is to show you're a Viper and you're always going to be one, no matter what you do. It was my initiation to the group, to prove I really wanted to be there. I had been running around with Chase and them, getting money by robbing people and from stealing valuables and selling them. Other members sold drugs; I was never in that part of the business. I knew what was going on though. Most of the time I was used as an enforcer of sorts, I was the one they called to get into fights and to help defend gang territory.

"I fell so deep into the gang that when I got the tattoo I had basically sealed my fate, no way back out." Avalon took a deep breath and continued. "Chase was the one who helped us get an apartment with smooth talking and a cash payment for rent. Since then, for the past three years, Bailey and I have been living there on our own."

"So when we came to your apartment, there was no one living there expect you two?" Kimberly asked. She looked over at Jason, who looked back at her, lifting his head with a nod. His suspicions had been right. "But you tried to make sure no one knew. That's why no one was ever allowed at your place or into any of your back rooms. That's why you always had an excuse as to why they weren't around."

"Because they were never there, yeah," Avalon agreed.

"But how did you live for so long on your own?" Trini asked.

"And how were your able to get into Angel Grove High?" Billy added. "With the districting and having to have emergency contacts…there're a lot of things that could work against you." Avalon tried not to look at him again. She didn't want to deal with his hurt, the possibility he had lost his trust in her loomed over her head, making her eyes well up once more.

"That wasn't a problem for a while," Avalon admitted. "Bailey was smart and she learns so easily she was always going to the public library and checking out books to continue with her studies. I'm sure she's like a borderline genius. I would do the same thing, get books to study. We'd leave the apartment like we were going to school, sit and hide in the library all day and then go back when school was supposed to be over. The receptionists changed shifts for the morning, afternoon, and night so they never saw our parents going to work, assumed the others had and we weren't ever questioned. Eventually Bailey started to beg to go to school and, since I was doing everything to make sure she was happy, I let her go. I wrote our address as the apartment complex, put in our mother's and father's name, put down our phone number, but also noted our parents worked out of the city, knowing if they were going to get a call from the school, I could easily intercept it or make an excuse for it. If they ever needed to talk to Mum or Dad, I would have Summer or Skye pretend to be our parents on the phone."

Avalon raised a shaking hand and wiped away a tear that managed to escape her eyes. She swallowed thickly, her throat dry, voice going hoarse from the effort of trying to explain every last minute detail she could think of. "And that's where I met you guys. At first, I didn't care about anything Angel Grove High related. In my head, I was there for a couple of hours and then I would go back to the gang and I'd do whatever it was I needed to do. But, bumping into you guys must have meant something, because that's when Zordon and Alpha explained I was to be a ranger, I was destined for it and that I was the key to helping you guys. Apparently Rita and Zedd knew it too and they sent Z-Putties after me. I fought back, was transported to the Command Center and was told I was the orange power ranger. I didn't believe any of what I was supposed to do at first; I blew it off as much as I could. But as time went on…and I really started to like you guys and you all accepted me no matter how much I tried to push you away, I started to have problems figuring out who I was loyal too.

"Chase noticed it and started to push me more and more, saying my loyalty was to the gang and I had to drop you guys. But…my loyalty is also to being a ranger and to do whatever I can to make sure my sister is safe.

"So why didn't you just leave the gang?" Trini asked.

Avalon gave a humorless chuckle, running a hand through her hair. "Getting into a gang is a _lot_ easier than getting out, mate." Bitterness entered her tone. "Getting in, I just had to do a few things; get jumped by the other gang members and stay standing, rob a store, and get this tattoo. I did all of them easily, because, at the time, they were like a family to me. They were there for me when I needed them to be. If I tried to leave, it'll be the ultimate betrayal and I could be killed. Just the thought of wanting to leave could put Bailey and the rest of you guys in danger." She shook her head. "That's why I tried so hard to keep both of my lives separate, that's why I'm so tired. I'm doing something for both sides to keep them both happy." She swallowed thickly, the licked her lips. Her lower jaw trembled and she looked at Kimberly again. "I swear, the first time we went into your house and robbed it, I didn't know it was your house. I only knew, the second time, because you were talking about your pearl necklace gone missing and there was no way it could have been a coincidence. Especially since it was stolen and you mentioned it, like, the day after. If I had known it was yours, I wouldn't have…." Avalon shook her head again. "If you can't forgive me, I'll understand."

She now addressed all of the rangers. "If none of you guys can forgive me, I'll understand, just please know I felt like I didn't have a choice."

Billy ran a hand over his mouth. It was a hard decision he had to make. Avalon had just spilled her guts with everything about her parents, her family, and what she had been through for the past three, almost four, years. And here he knew another piece of the puzzle. Should he tell her? Or should he wait for a better time to bring it up? Billy ran a hand through his hair, now wishing he wasn't the one who knew about it. How was she going to react? Not well, he could bet. But now…she was too vulnerable, too emotionally raw to hear her father had another family he had been taking care of.

He was broken out of his thoughts by Zack turning to Jason.

"Jase, your dad's a lawyer; do you think there's something he can do?"

Jason's serious look had dropped from his face and he now looked compassionate. In fact, as Avalon had gone on with her story, everyone's faces had all softened and they were now looking at the Mitchell sister with concern only friends would have for each other. "I know there's a lot he could do, but I'm not sure which of all of it would help," he admitted. "What I know he could do is try to find their Dad and see what went on there." He shook his head and reached out, placing a hand on Avalon's shoulder. He gave her a comforting smile. "Don't worry," He said. "We'll figure everything out."

"Really?" Bailey whispered.

"Yeah," Zack said. "We're your friends. And the point of being friends is you help each other through the good and bad times." He chuckled. "And you just got kicked out of your house. If this isn't a bad time, I don't know what is."

His joke eased the tension in the room.

Avalon let out another sigh of relief, bringing up her hands and brushing her tears away from her eyes. She sniffed loudly and looked over at Bailey, who was sniffing as well. The sisters glanced at each other and laughed a little bit. Happy laughter. The weight of the world had been finally lifted from their shoulders.

"Ok, the first thing we have to think about is where are they going to go?" Tommy started. "My house doesn't have enough space for them."

"Me either," Trini agreed. Jason nodded.

"They can stay with me," Billy said quickly. "I'm sure my Mom and Dad won't mind as long as I explain the situation delicately. Especially if we can't have the police involved. He wrung his hands together. "We have a spare guest room they can use."

"Thanks Smurf," Avalon said gratefully.

Billy grimaced for a moment at the endearing nickname. _That's great, Billy. Try and ease your guilt by having them stay at your place._ He pushed the thought away. It was the truth though. He wanted them to stay with him because he felt a bit guilty about knowing what was going on with their personal life more than they did. "It's no problem, Av." He leaned over and gave her a hug, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Avalon reached up and held onto him tightly, he could feel the strength of her hold on him.

Now that things were getting better for her, Avalon didn't want to let go in case things came falling apart again.

"If you're moving, that means we can get you all new stuff," Kimberly said. She clasped her hands together, swinging twisting back and forth in her excitement. "This means another trip to the mall. We can get you some stuff to decorate your room; bed spread, drapes…"

"Just as long as we don't get doilies, Pinkerbell," Avalon said.

Kimberly stuck out her tongue and motioned to Trini. "Just for that, we'll be _sure_ to get doilies."

"There's just one thing I don't get though," Jason said. "What was Chase doing at school?"

"Yeah, because Jase here thought he was your boyfriend or something," Zack added.

The orange ranger turned to the red ranger, a smirk slowly sliding onto her face as her eyes flashed with mischief. "Jealous, Rudolph?" she taunted. Now that she had everything off her chest, she was starting to act like her normal self, but there was a warm edge to her tone this tone. Compared to the sarcastic, condescending, cold tone she usually held, this Avalon was like a completely different person. Maybe it was the admission. Traumatic events like that affected even the strongest person.

"No," Jason said evenly. "I saw the bruise on your face and I was afraid he was hurting you."

Avalon's eyes widened. "You thought he was hitting me?" She bobbed her head back and forth. "Technically, you're right," she admitted. "It was the only time, though. He was afraid I was leaving the gang and as the gang leader, he was being sure I wasn't turning my back on them." She dropped her head to look at her hands. "And while you were wrong, it was sweet…I guess…thanks…" Avalon's face puckered as if she just swallowed a lemon.

Bailey giggled leaning further onto her sister.

Avalon nudged her back.

"So, can we go home yet?" Bailey asked Billy.

"Not until tomorrow," Trini said. She laughed when a low groan moved around the room and Bailey made a loud whining sound. "Um, did you forget the nurse said she needs to stay here overnight for tests? I think it would be a bit suspicious if she suddenly disappeared from a hospital bed."

"No, it'd be so cool," Zack said. "We'd be the first group of people who successfully managed to smuggle a patient out of a hospital." He grinned. "Instead of bringing food in, we'll bring a person out."

"In what? A laundry bag?"

"If that's what it takes."

"Zack!" Kimberly admonished.

"Let's hold off on that plan until she feels better, Zack," Tommy said. He patted the black ranger's shoulder before waving to Avalon. "See you tomorrow." The rangers started to move towards the door. Billy, Bailey, Kimberly, and Trini gave her a hug, Zack ruffled Avalon's hair and Jason smiled warmly and nodded at her before they all left.

Avalon let out another sigh, this time, a happy one, dropping her head back onto her pillows. She only glanced up when the door opened again and the nurse walked in. "Seems to me like that visit from your friends has really helped."

"Yeah," Avalon said softly. "They did." She paused. "They're my best friends," she murmured.

"It seems like it," the nurse said, patting Avalon the foot.

* * *

 

"Thanks again for letting us stay with you Mr. and Mrs. Cranston," Avalon said, shoving her hands into her sweatshirt pocket. She cast a shy glance at the two professors, the overwhelming feeling of warmth and acceptance made her feel a bit uncomfortable. But uncomfortable in a good way. "You didn't have to do this. Bailey and I can't thank you enough."

"Don't worry about it, dear," Mrs. Cranston said. She reached out and cupped Avalon's cheek in her hand. "We're glad we could help you girls in some way."

"If you ever need anything, please don't be afraid to ask," Mr. Cranston added. "While you're here, you're going to be treated like family."

"Cheers, mate," Avalon said. She let out a short breath of air, and then pointed over her shoulder. "I'm…just going to get some air real quick. I'll be back inside in a couple of minutes."

"Take your time," Mr. Cranston said gently.

Avalon smiled and nodded. Turning on her heel, she walked out the front door of the Cranston's house, gently closing the door behind her. The night air was cold and damp as Avalon sat on the porch swing outside of the new house she and her little sister now called home. She gently pressed her feet on the ground, pushing the swing back and forth softly as she listened to crickets chirp. She wondered why she had to be there. What she did to deserve everything to fall apart. Not that she was ungrateful for the chance she and Bailey had to have better lives now. But what caused things to go so far south for her and her sister?

What caused their mother to get so hooked on drugs and for their father to chase after her? What caused them to be left alone for so long? She wasn't a bad guy, not really. She'd never done anything bad intentionally; that she didn't think wasn't helping someone else.

But she was a power ranger too. Someone who went and tried to help other people stay safe, innocent people and those who didn't deserve to have anything bad happen to them. The other rangers knew everything about her past now and she was glad. She had never been happier. This was a new beginning for them and she was going to make the best of it.

Avalon got to her feet and disappeared into the house…


	25. New Beginning

**Chapter 25**

_New Beginning_

"Captain, I need to speak with you."

Captain William Mitchell looked up from the file folder he held in his hands. His co-worker, Aaron Mason walked briskly to him, looking over his shoulder every few seconds as he did so. Captain Mitchell closed his folder and tucked it under his arm, waiting for Aaron to reach him. His lips twitched, allowing his mustache to follow the small movement. "Yes, Mason? What can I do for you? Does it have anything to do with-"

"It has to do with your daughter?" Aaron said under his breath.

His breath hitching in his throat, Captain Mitchell now took the chance to look around at the cubicles that were preoccupied by his co-workers. It didn't seem that anyone was paying them any attention; no one seemed to have noticed their hushed tones and stiff stances. Captain Mitchell's dark eyes moved around the room, a million thoughts running through his head. He let out a breath and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. There were a million things that could have gone wrong. All of which having to do with the decision that he had made ages ago. He let out his breath and turned to the side, opening his folder once more, making it appear that he and Aaron were in a tense conversation about the files that were inside.

"Meet me in the break room and we can talk about it then," he murmured. "Five minutes." Closing the folder once more, he turned and sat down at his desk. Warily, he rested his face in his hands and rubbed at his temples. That pounding headache wasn't going to go away no matter how many times he rubbed the sore spots. There were too many things that would be revealed if anyone found out about Aaron Mason was talking about. As it happened, he didn't have only one daughter as the picture on his desk showed. She wasn't an only child, there were so many things he didn't want to think about and now it was all coming back to him sooner than he anticipated.

Reaching out a shaky hand, Captain Mitchell picked up the photo graph of wide smiling, spaces in her teeth blonde little girl, his daughter Dana, which rested on his desk next to the large stack of papers he hadn't managed to dent. No matter what he finished, the pile never seemed to shrink in size. Now it was the last thing on his mind, now that everything was crashing down around him from those seven simple words.

_It has to do with your daughter._

Captain Mitchell replaced the picture of Dana and reached for the phone that rested on his desk. He pulled it off the hook and started to punch in a series of numbers. Halfway through, he stopped and replaced the phone. No. He couldn't call her. She probably wouldn't talk to him and if so, their conversation would end up in another fight with the two of them raising their voices and demanding to know which one was to blame for their predicament. Captain Mitchell let out another sigh before standing up from his desk, straightening his shirt, and fixing his tie. Picking up his file folder, he walked out f his cubicle and headed towards the break room. On the way there, he spotted the young woman he had been looking for.

"Excuse me, Miss. Fairweather," he said, stopping in front of her. Angela Fairweather pushed her glasses up her nose and gave a shaky smile, hugging her clipboard closer to her chest. She blinked up at him as he continued. "There's something that I need to discuss with you, may I see you in the break room?"

"Sure thing, Captain," Angela said. She smiled and nodded again and followed Captain Mitchell to the break room. Pushing open the door, he allowed her to go first and closed the door behind himself. Aaron turned away from the coffee pot and greeted the two with a nod. "Is something wrong?"

"Unfortunately the experimental metamorphosis program that we created long ago seems to have malfunctioned in an even greater way than we expected," Aaron said with a heavy sigh. He lifted his coffee mug to his mouth and took a long sip.

"Is there anything that we can do?" Angela pressed. "It was only a prototype when we first created it and with our new advancements things should be fine now." She glanced over at Captain Mitchell who still had his arms crossed over his chest. His lips were pressed together in a thin line and he kept his gaze on his feet. "When we first created the process from everything we found out from past intergalactic battles we didn't think it was going to be fool proof."

"We also didn't think there would be as many side effects as there have been," Aaron reminded her. He cleared his throat and turned to Captain Mitchell. "Sir, your daughter, Avalon, has been in the hospital recently. And as I have found out, she and your other daughter, Abigail, had been living on their own and have just recently been evicted. I believe they're now living with a friend of theirs, but that isn't the main focus here."

Not the main focus? He had left his daughters to live with their aunt and now he found out they were living alone? Did they live on the street? Did they get hurt in some way? How did they manage to get the apartment for themselves? It had been so long since he left the airport, thinking they were ok. How long had it been really? Three years? That long already? He wondered if they were any different, if Avalon was still that sweet and athletic girl and if Bailey was still that shy and modest little girl. He had wanted to contact them years before, but wasn't sure if it would be best. Now hearing what they had gone through, he felt nothing but intense guilt.

"The main focus is that we've gotten word that she's a lot stronger and faster than she should be," Aaron continued. "She can lift more than twice her body weight as well as run faster than one hundred miles an hour as she has been clocked so far."

Captain Mitchell's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" He breathed. "We knew that there was a chance that the side effects could be at the molecular level. But are you absolutely sure about this?"

"We're absolutely sure," Aaron continued. "And we also have reason to believe…well, not believe more than we know that she's a power ranger as well." Captain Mitchell's eyebrow quirked upward. "Everything that we know about the existence of the power rangers as well as Rita Repulsa, Zedd, and Alpha and Zordon all seems to link back to her." He held up a finger. "However, we're not completely sure about the identities of the other rangers, though we're sure that they're the people she and Abigail associate themselves with."

"It would make sense that she would become a power ranger," Captain Mitchell finally said. "Considering I was the one that injected her with the powers to become one." He ran a hand over his hair. "Though it was an accident, she was still exposed to what Miss. Fairweather and I had been working on. So far, it seems to have been a success in that matter, though the powers that we tried to make don't seem to be what she's using."

"Correct," Aaron agreed. "The powers she's using are what have been bestowed upon her by Alpha and Zordon considering the information that those at NASADA have been able to give me."

"Let me see the files from NASADA and give me your informant so I can stay in contact with him," Captain Mitchell instructed. Aaron nodded then Captain Mitchell turned to Angela. "I'm going to have you assigned to work with me. I want to continue with the program we had created before; it's given Avalon the side effects that are thought to go with the powers of that a power rangers should have."

"There's something else, Captain," Aaron continued. "Abigail seems to have created a new power source from the power ranger project you had made before. It's given Avalon and the ability to control fire. If that's the case, then we're going to need to watch her even closer that we already had been."

"Thank you," Captain Mitchell said. He sighed heavily and briefly closed his eyes, mentally trying to figure out what to do. The best thing would be to keep this quiet between the three of them before things got out of hand. As the way they were at the moment, things were slowly going that way. Miss. Fairweather would be moved to work exclusively with Captain Mitchell while they figured out what to do and how to contain the news of the power rangers' identities as well as the newfound abilities they seemed to be having. "This has really become more of a problem than I would have anticipated. If I knew about it beforehand, I wouldn't have created the project in the first place."

"Captain, the project proves to have become a success, it was just accidentally exposing it to your daughter that's the problem," Miss. Fairweather continued. "Had it have been your other daughter or your son-"

Captain Mitchell turned and glared at her and Miss. Fairweather immediately closed her mouth, looking down at her clipboard once more. Aaron continued to stay silent, being sure not to look at Captain Mitchell, in case he would infuriate him even further. The loss of his son had been extremely hard for the widower, shortly after he had lost his wife. Reminders of that night would always be shut down before it could immediately affect him. Captain Mitchell had only been seen grieving over it at work once and when he had come back, he was back to business and wouldn't allow anyone to keep him away from his job. However there was a lot about his life that his co-workers didn't know so the fact he could talk to _someone_ about the intricacies of his life made him feel a little bit better.

"Please just wait for me at my office," Captain Mitchell said to her. Miss. Fairweather nodded and turned, leaving the break room. Aaron walked over to Captain Mitchell and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"If there's anything else you need to me to do for you," he said. "Please don't hesitate to ask."

"The only thing I hope you make sure _doesn't_ happen is any of my kids find out about this before I can tell them myself," Captain Mitchell replied quietly, his voice above a whisper. "Thanks Aaron." He patted Aaron on the shoulder and left the break room, gently closing the door behind him. Instead of going back to his office, he went to the men's room and ducked into a stall. Closing the toilet lid, he sat down and put his face in his hands, pressing the heels of his palms over his eyes and quietly sobbed.

* * *

 

Avalon picked up her dishes and placed them in the sink. She ran the water, rinsing off the bowl and spoon she used for cereal and returned to the kitchen table, where Billy was sitting, waiting patiently. The orange ranger bent down by the chair she had previously occupied and picked up her backpack, sliding her backpack over her shoulders. She reached back behind her and loosened the pigtails she was wearing in her hair, pulling them over her shoulders. "If I had known that your parents weren't going to be here for breakfast, I wouldn't have made so much," she apologized, motioning over to the three Tupperware containers sitting on the counter; filled with eggs, toast, bacon, and hash browns. Though it had stated to cool, the delicious smells were still wafting from the closed plastic.

"It's alright, Av, it's the thought that counts," Billy reassured her, waving a hand. He dropped his arms onto the table and leaned towards her. "Besides, I told you when you and Bailey got here, don't act like you have to earn your keep to stay here. We're glad to be able to help you."

Avalon frowned as she sat down in the chair, her backpack pushing her towards the edge of her seat. She shifted her feet, to drag them under her chair, and accidentally bumped them against Billy's. Avalon let out a quiet sigh, bringing her head down and allowing some loose fringe to fall over her face. She chewed her bottom lip for a moment before speaking. "I know," she finally said. "It's just…what with what we still have to do…talk to the police, potentially get some restraining orders…" she threw her hands into the air. "I don't know what's going to happen with Chase and them now. It's like I said before, getting out of a gang is a _lot_ harder than getting in and knowing Chase as well as I do, he's going to be pissed." She shook her head, a pigtail hitting her in the face, causing Billy to chuckle a little. "I don't want you guys to be put in any danger because of me."

"We've been in danger before you," Billy pointed out. "And we don't know what's going to happen in the future." He brought his hands up and steepled his fingers together, resting his chin on top of his hands. "As long as you remember that we're all going to help you out any time you need it. Just like we'd hope that you'd do the same for us."

"No worries there mate," Avalon reassured him. She gave a small almost embarrassed, smile scratching the back of her neck. "You all still accept me even after everything I've revealed. I wasn't lying when I said that you lot are my best friends."

"At least you're not afraid to say it," Billy pointed out.

"That too." Avalon lowered her hands from her neck and placed them on the table, picking at the chipping nail polish.

She took the chance to look around the kitchen and conjoining living room. It was like any house in that area would look like; she had broken into enough homes to know the economic status of that family, and how many kids were bound to live there, just from looking at the furniture. The kitchen was a good size, small enough to feel cozy, yet big enough to accommodate whoever was going to stop by for dinner. The living room was warm and inviting, which surprised her a bit. She had expected David and Lacey Cranston to be a bit more straightedge and by the rules, based on their professions, but they were warm and inviting, easily allowing Avalon and Bailey into their lives. Even over the weekend, as the rangers helped the Mitchell sisters move their things into the Cranston's guest room and move things around, David and Lacey had been helpful, smiling and laughing along with the teenagers.

They even went as far as to allow the two girls to call them by their first names, anything that would make them feel at home. Avalon felt at home already, though there was still a part of her that felt a bit out of place there. _Probably because I'm not used to seeing such a well off family when mine isn't going that great._ Avalon sucked in a deep breath and released it, allowing her shoulders to drop. The smile came back. _But things are getting better now._

Billy reached out and patted Avalon's hands before he looked at his watch. Then he stood up, grabbing his backpack from the ground. "We should probably get going."

Avalon glanced up at him. "What's the matter Smurf? You don't want me to ruin your perfect attendance," she teased, getting to her feet as well. Reaching out a hand, she pushed her chair into the table before smirking over at Billy.

He gave her s serious look. "No, I'm more disturbed with the impending likelihood of being jumped." Avalon stopped and stared at him, her right eye slowly lowering in the silent seconds that passed.

Great, that was the reminder she needed. Thinking that someone from the Vipers had found out and was going to stalk her or that someone from the High Flyers would follow her there once they found out she and Bailey weren't living in the apartment anymore. It was frustrating. Almost everywhere she went she caused problems and now it was getting to the point where she couldn't sleep because she was constantly worrying about what would happen after they talked to the police. It was hard enough for Avalon to admit that she needed help to the rangers the first time, having to continue to explain her life for the past three years was something she could live without.

How many people did anyone know was in a gang and still went to school and take care of their younger sibling? Being a ranger made it worse, she was constantly facing doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing in the same day. And she was lying about it to the people that she was helping save the world along with bringing danger to them at the same time.

It was enough to drive her crazy.

But now that everything was out in the open, she could breathe easier. Life was getting better already; she had to remember to focus on that.

As the silence continued to stretch between them Billy blinked, his eyes widening in surprised and fear. "I was joking." He scratched the back of his neck. "I guess it wasn't that funny."

"Stick to your science fairs, Smurf," Avalon said. She and Billy walked over to the stairs, heading towards the front door. Avalon glanced down at the shoes that sat at the base of the stairs before she rolled her head to call up the stairs. "Bailey, c'mon, we have to get going!" She looked at her watch then crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin so she could look directly at Billy. "How does it take her this long to get ready every morning?"

"Probably, considering the fact that she sleeps in as much as she can, she's overly exhausted from the emotional weekend," Billy suggested. He looked just as concerned as she felt, if not more. Avalon glanced away from him, feeling anxiety run through her body. She was so not used to people caring about her so much.

"Hm." Avalon didn't look convinced, though she was a bit concerned. "Maybe." She turned to Billy, crossing one leg over the other. "How are the contacts feeling this morning? They hurt your eyes so badly yesterday that your eyes were blazing red all day." The corner of her mouth lifted. "I know it was the dust, but you looked like you were a step away from getting the munchies."

"Better now," Billy said, hitching his backpack up his shoulder. He shrugged. "I guess I just needed to get used to them." He looked at his own watch then gave her a shy look from under his fringe. "Actually, may I inquire you about something?" Avalon nodded, curious as to what he wanted to ask her. It must have been big if _he_ was the one that needed help. "My date with Trini is coming up soon-"

Avalon broke in, poking him in the shoulder. "Are you excited?"

"Wow, you really sounded like Kim there," Billy said.

Avalon adopted a look of horror before grabbing onto Billy's arm, digging her fingers into the skin. "Please, if I ever start to wear pink, put me out of my misery." She laughed and dropped her hands. "Sorry, Smurf, what was it that you wanted? Your date with Trini?" Billy suddenly blushed and Avalon nodded. "It's your first date, isn't it?"

"Yyyeah," Billy finally admitted, his face reddening even further. He turned his gaze to his feet. "And, I don't know where to take her. I thought she'd like to see a movie-"

"Movies are bad for first dates," Avalon interrupted. "You want to go somewhere quiet and…kind of secluded so you can get some time alone…so you can talk." She thought for a moment, tapping her chin. "What about a book store? That seems like something you'd both enjoy. A coffee shop, maybe."

"I don't know if she likes coffee," Billy admitted. He looked at the orange ranger up from under his eyelashes. "Umm, you girls talk a lot, right? Can you figure it out for me? Maybe ask her where she'd want to go?"

Avalon blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected that at all. Most guys were the take charge kind of guy and knew immediately what they were going to do when they asked the girl out. Their confidence was what would instill whether or not the date went well. Avalon slowly shook her head before reaching out and patting Billy where she had poked him before. "It's not going to matter where you take Trini; she wants to go out with _you_. She'd probably have fun sitting in the Command Center working on some of the machinery." Avalon waved a hand in the air. "Personally, I'd probably be bored by that, but to each their own."

"I guess I just don't get why she wants to go out with me," Billy muttered. He scratched the side of his neck. "Dating isn't my thing. Not like Tommy, or Zack, or Jason. I'm better with things that require intelligence and-"

"Since when does being intelligent mean that you can't have fun?" Avalon interrupted, she looked a little angry. "You're nice, you're sweet, and you're smart. Anyone that wouldn't want to go out with you is a boofhead, seriously." She crossed her arms over her chest. "But if you really want me to ask Trini about it, I will." She then smirked. "Yes, I actually _am_ that awesome."

"And you're modest, too," Billy agreed. He gave another shy smile. "Thanks, Av."

"No worries." Avalon then gritted her teeth. "I just hope you don't mind that you might lose an assistant because if I don't want Bay up not, she's definitely going to make us late for school." She excused herself and hurried up the stairs and walked down the hallways to the guest room. Avalon knocked on the bedroom door before opening it and stepping inside. She groaned when she spotted her sister still in bed. "Bay!"

"I'm sick," Bailey's muffled voice replied.

"Like hell you are." Avalon walked over to her sister, tucking her hair behind her ears. She bent down and pushed Bailey's hair back from her face so she could clearly see her. Despite not believing her, Avalon's motherly instinct took over and she placed the back of her hand on Bailey's forehead. Her voice lowered to a soothing tone when she spoke, "When you're sick, the tip of your nose gets red."

Bailey reached out and grabbed the blankets, pulling them over her head."I don't feel well." Her voice was muffled by the sheets that covered her.

"Are you sure it's not because of what's been happening? Are you afraid your classmates might have found out and will tease you?" She was sure that was it. She remembered what it was like to be in the years that consisted of junior high. Kids could be cruel sometimes. They could tease you and put you down until you broke and made you afraid of going to school. The bullying could be that bad. But from Avalon had seen, Bailey had made a good friend in Fred and that should have made it better for her. Avalon stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. When she didn't get an answer from her sister, she ran a hand through her hair and looked at the ceiling for a moment. "If I find out you're chucking a sickie, you'll be in trouble, got it?"

"Got it." Bailey rolled over so her back was facing Avalon.

Avalon reached over and stuck her hand under the covers, holding out her pinky finger. Bailey hooked hers around Avalon's before dropping her hand back to her side. Avalon left the room, gently closing the door behind her. She walked back downstairs and over to Billy. "She's sick, so we can just go on ahead."

"Is she ok?" Billy glanced back at the stairs.

"She'll be apples," Avalon replied.

Billy's eyebrows slanted together in a look of utter confusion. "That doesn't make any sense. The idea that someone will be an apple says-"

"I really got to get you a slang dictionary, Smurf." Avalon reached over and opened the front door. Placing both hands on his back she pushed him out the front door, pulling it closed with her foot.


	26. Tommy's Making Waves

**Chapter 26**

_Tommy's Making Waves_

"Bye Mom, Bye Dad," Tommy called. He gathered his school books together, and then shoved them into his white backpack. He pushed his ponytail over his shoulder and hitched his backpack up over his shoulder, heading towards the front door.

"Tommy, wait a minute," Mrs. Oliver called after him.

"I'm going to be late." Tommy started to motion over his shoulder, but stopped when he saw the serious expressions on his parents' faces. Tommy's dark eyes moved back and forth, across the planes of their faces as he slowly lowered his arm. "Something tells me this is important," he said under his breath. He took a step towards them. "Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine, Tommy," Mr. Oliver replied. "We just wanted to talk to you about your friends, Avalon and Bailey." Tommy nodded, turning back to them. "How are they holding up? With the move and everything?" He glanced at his wife for a moment then gave his son a warm smile. "We know how hard things can be with foster families and adoption…"

"I'm not having a problem with you guys," Tommy joked. He chuckled a little before shrugging. "Things seem to be going fine with them," he replied. "I mean, while we've been practicing martial arts, Bailey hasn't seemed weird or anything." He shrugged. "And Avalon's as feisty as ever. At first, she didn't want us to help them move in, but if you knew Av, you'd know that's normal."

"That's what we wanted to talk about, actually," Mrs. Oliver said. She brushed her hair behind her ears. "We wanted to talk to the girls, so they would have some sort of support on their side. Just so they know that while their parents aren't around, there are still a lot of options that they could look at." She glanced at her husband, who gave her an encouraging nod, resting a hand on her shoulder. Tommy smiled at the moment of compassion between his parents. "I mean, their situation is very complicated, but we thought that talking to them might help a bit."

Tommy thought about it for a moment. Maybe that would help the two of them. They knew their friends were around to help them out whenever they needed it, but they didn't have the parental figures in their lives that everyone else had. Even Kimberly, who had only one parent wasn't deterred by her lack of a father. But these girls didn't have a mother or a father around for them to talk to or to get help from. In fact, it seemed to be the only thing of their whole ordeal that bothered them the most. They hardly shared anything about their parents unless it was a random fact that just slipped out.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. If they were going to be friends, there had to be a time where they would meet each other's parents. Plus, they had met Trini's parents and things seemed to be fine between them then. The Mitchell sisters had liked them just fine.

"Yeah, sure," Tommy finally agreed. "It sounds like a good idea, I'm sure they'd like to talk to you guys." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I can bring them around for dinner or something. Maybe after one of my lessons with Bailey?" He suggested. His eyes shifted when Mrs. Oliver crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her son with a leveled gaze. "What?"

"I'm just wondering why we barely hear about Avalon and Bailey and you're not hesitant about bringing them over, but we hear about Kimberly _all_ the time and you haven't brought her over for dinner once?" She tapped her foot, waiting for an explanation. Behind her, Mr. Oliver smiled at his son, laughing quietly, enjoying the white ranger's nervousness.

"Oh. Well. That's because…uh…" Tommy wracked his brains for an answer. It probably did seem strange, especially considering how many times he had dinner over at the Harts' house. Her mother seemed to like him a lot, so what was so bad about him bringing her over to their place? He looked over to his father for help; how was he going to answer her without offending her?

"Honey, isn't it obvious?" Mr. Oliver placed his hands on Mrs. Oliver's shoulders, squeezing tightly before rubbing her arms. "He's afraid that you're going to embarrass him in front of her. I mean, someone as special as Kimberly…I can understand that he wouldn't want you gushing over him or pulling out the baby pictures, or telling embarrassing stories…" He winked at Tommy, who smiled gratefully at his father.

"I won't embarrass you!" Mrs. Oliver said indignantly.

"It's written in almost every mother's DNA, Mom," Tommy said, slowly shaking his head. He batted his dark eyes sympathetically. "We learned it in school. All mothers embarrass their children, especially when they're bringing over their girlfriend." He cleared his throat and started backing towards the door. "I promise I'll tell her about it and let you know what she says. And about Avalon and Bailey." He quickly waved at the two. "I'll see you guys later."

Tommy waved once more before leaving the house and starting to walk down the street towards Angel Grove High. He thought about what his parents had said about talking to Avalon and Bailey. He couldn't begin to think about what life would have been like if he hadn't been adopted by his parents. Would he have grown up to be the same person he was now? Would he have met his friends? What about Kimberly? His father was right when he had said that Kimberly was a special girl. She was incredibly special to him, more than that. He had come to terms with the fact that he really as in love with her, and was still trying to find the time that would be perfect so he could tell her. It was getting harder and harder to wait; every time he saw her beautiful face, every time she directed that cute smile towards him, anytime she would look his way he couldn't help the butterflies that fluttered through his body. He was glad to do anything with her, even homework, if it allowed the two of them to be together.

Even fighting alongside together filled him with a sense of purpose and determination, knowing he was striving hard to protect her as much as he was protecting Angel Grove just as she did for him.

* * *

 

Avalon and Billy walked into Angel Grove High and over to their lockers. Avalon brought her hands up to her backpack and winced as she allowed it to drop down her arm, onto the ground. Her muscles still ached from the beating the putties had given her when they attacked the school. Or maybe she was still channeling the attack that Chase had afflicted upon her. She reached up, rubbing her shoulder, a frown gracing her features as she thought about Billy's joke. Who knew how much of a joke it really was, Chase had even shown up at her school to fight her, not caring who saw or what would happen in the fallout of it. Who knew what he would have done if Jason and Zack hadn't come out and stopped him? He had hid it very well, but Avalon could tell just from one look at his face that he was frustrated, having been interrupted.

For all she knew, he really was going to watch the Cranstons' house to be sure she was doing as she said she would. Avalon slowly shook her head. What was he going to say when he found out she was living with the friends she wasn't supposed to be hanging out with? Probably nothing now that the bigger problem was how she was going to find a way out of the Vipers. Easier said than done.

"Hey guys!" Jason, Kimberly, Trini, and Zack walked up to the orange and blue rangers.

"Hey," Billy greeted them in reply. He tossed his head towards Zack. "Are you ready to, finally, get that project out of the way?"

"Definitely," Zack agreed. He rubbed his hands together before doing a quick dance step, his feet flying over the floor as he did so. "I've been ready for this forever. It's probably going to be the only 'A' I actually get this semester."

"You mean the only 'A' you'll get in anything besides PE," Kimberly teased. She shook her head, hugging her books to her chest. "I'm still surprised you managed to get that B after that whole weekend of not studying."

"Kim, doesn't he help you with history class sometimes?" Trini pointed out.

"She's got ya there, Kim," Jason added.

Zack grinned as Kimberly slowly turned and gave her best friend a tiny glare, silently asking her why she ruined her joke. Trini smile sweetly in reply before turning her smile over to Billy. Billy blushed, smiling back at her. He glanced at Avalon, who had turned away from him, turning her attention back to her locker, balancing the combination lock on in the palm of her hand as she turned the dial. The lock popped open and fell into her hand.

"Hey guys," Tommy greeted as he arrived. Standing next to Avalon's locker, he opened his own, reaching around to take his backpack, placing it inside.

"Hey," came the unanimous reply.

Avalon opened her locker door and stood on her tiptoes, reaching out and grabbing onto the candy wrapper that sat on top. Avalon let out a cry of happiness, her fist closing around the candy.

"Geez, Av, I don't think I've ever seen anyone get so excited about candy before," Jason remarked, shaking his head. "Don't get me wrong, I've seen plenty of little kids get hot and bothered around Halloween, but this is ridiculous."

"Maybe we should start calling you Oompa Loompa," Zack teased her, reaching out and poking her on the cheek. The orange ranger's eyes flashed as she closed her locker door and turned to the black ranger. Zack, noticing her glare, held his hands up defensively. "I take it back. It was a joke, geez."

"What's the matter?" Jason laughed. "You can give everyone nicknames and we can't give them to you?"

"No," Avalon said stubbornly. "Not if it has anything to do with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." She crossed her arms over her chest, jutting out her hip. "Like I haven't heard that one before." She rolled her dark eyes. "I've also heard Tic-Tac and Citrus, if I'm going to get a nickname; it has to be better than those." As if to punctuate the end of her sentence, she opened her candy and jammed the lollipop into her mouth. She smiled as her friends all laughed around her before her eyes shifted, lowering to the ground. Maybe this would be a good time to bring it up?

Using her tongue, she pushed the ring pop to the corner of her mouth, and then swallowed the watermelon flavored saliva that collected at the bottom of her cheek. "Anyway, guys, I was wondering if you were all doing anything this weekend." She ran her hands over each other, waiting for a response, before clasping her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heels. The power rangers looked around at each other as they shrugged, shaking their heads. Normally they had some sort of extracurricular activity or some sort of club meeting going on. This time, however, they all seemed to be free. Avalon let out a relieved sigh before speaking in a little voice. "Bonzer. Because…I was kind of hoping that you lot would want to come to a surf competition I'm entered in this weekend."

"How come you didn't say anything before, Kid?" Zack pressed.

Avalon shrugged but didn't reply. To be honest, she had never thought about mentioning it to them before. She had been so busy she nearly forgot about it herself. It wasn't until she had been sitting in the hospital bed by herself for a long time that she figured it would be a good way to start opening up to them. To show that she really did want to have them all around. It surprised her, really, that they had accepted her so quickly and that they didn't feel betrayed at what she had done. She expected Kimberly to not want to be around her, having broken into her house twice, stealing her pearl necklace and Ms. Hart's gold necklace, and only managed to recuperate the pearl necklace. The guilt was still gnawing at her insides with that one, each and every time she looked at the pink ranger, no matter how many times she was reassured that everything was ok.

"Well that sounds like it'd be really rad," Kimberly said with a bright smile. "I'll definitely be there!"

"Me too," Jason agreed. "It's supposed to be really nice at the beach this weekend, too."

Avalon's eyebrows rose. "Really?" Her eyebrows returned to its normal position and she nodded. "Ace." She glanced at her watch. "Anyway, we'd better get to class or else we might ruin Billy's perfect attendance." She rolled her head back to glance at the blue ranger, who rolled his eyes. Kimberly laughed and the girls started off down the hallway with the boys trailing behind him.

"The surf competition sounds really fun, Avalon," Trini said, tucking her books under her arm. "Thanks for inviting us."

"No worries," Avalon said, waving it off. It really wasn't a big deal. All she had to do was make sure that no one from the Vipers or High Flyers followed them around that day while she tried to be happy, _really happy_ , for the first time since she met the rangers. Something always seemed to backfire in her face, whether she meant it to or not.

"So how long have you been surfing?" Kimberly broke in. She tucked her hair behind her ears and turned to Avalon with a bright smile. "I've always wanted to learn how. But the salt water does nothing for my hair."

"I bet it does nothing for your wardrobe either," Avalon returned.

"That's what you think, all the beach ware has been really good for my closet," Kimberly said. She then turned to Trini with a sly smile. "Speaking of wardrobe, have you finally decided what you're going to wear for your date with Billy."

 _This is the cue I've been waiting for,_ Avalon thought. She cleared her throat, catching Trini's attention as well. She could see the faint blush that rose to the yellow ranger's cheeks, but pressed on anyway. "Have you guys decided what you're going to do yet?"

"No and no," Trini said, responding to both girls. She let out a patient sigh. "I was hoping he'd come up with something sooner, I'm really excited to go and—"Trini was cut off with Kimberly letting out a sudden shriek, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth.

"Its official, Sunny, Kim's finally lost it," Avalon said. She raised a hand into the air. "And it's about time, too. I thought she would have lost it ages ago." She snickered, bending out of the way as Kimberly reached out to elbow her in the side. When her elbow didn't strike the orange ranger, Kimberly reached out and smacked her on the stomach with the back of her hand. "Ow!"

"Serve's you right," Kimberly teased, sticking out her tongue. She grabbed onto Trini's arm, hooking her arm through hers. "Anyway, Trini, why don't you and Billy have your date at the beach? At Av's surf competition."

"Because nothing says romance more than a surf competition," Avalon said sarcastically. "Crowded beaches with people yelling and screaming more than usual." She thought for a moment when shrugged. "It's really put the sex wax to good use."

"I'm serious," Kimberly insisted. She nudged her shoulder into Trini's side. "The warm weather, bright sun, hot sand, the surf. The sunset! Think of the sunset! It'll be totally romantic, Trini. You should really do it. And the rest of us will be there-"

"—There's an incentive," Avalon remarked, earning another hit to the stomach. She clenched her left hand into a fist, resisting the urge to hit Kimberly back. Her first reaction was to hit her just as hard as she was hit herself, something she had become used to having been with the Vipers so long. You proved your worth by hitting as hard as the person that hit you first. It proved to help whenever she was in a battle over their gang territory."

"So if something goes wrong, or if you just need a quick break or whatever, the rest of us will be there," Kimberly continued. "That way the pressure will be off. Me and Tommy can hang out as a double date or something." She then turned to Avalon and started to say something, then changed her mind. "We really need you to get a boyfriend."

"I don't need one, mate," Avalon said quickly.

"I don't know. Your secret admirer must be real sweet on you if he's been leaving you candy every day like this."

"You've been waiting a really long time to say that haven't you?"

Kimberly giggled before turning back to Trini. They had arrived at Ms. Appleby's classroom and the students were already filing inside, taking their seats. "Say yes. C'mon, it'll be great." Trini looked back over her shoulder at the boys and then at Kimberly once more, before nodding. "Yay! This is going to be great!" She put her arm around Trini's shoulders and the two pressed their heads together as they walked inside the classroom with Avalon following behind them as they went to their seats. Avalon sat down in her seat, stretching her legs out as she slouched in her seat. The boys trailed into the room and sat down around the girls, waiting for class to start.

Avalon opened her notebook and picked up a pen: _Trini wants to have your date at the surf comp this weekend. Better go for it, Kim seems to think it's romantic._ She ripped the paper out of the binder and crumpled it up in her hand. Feigning a stretch, she reached her right arm out and dropped the balled up sheet of paper onto Billy's desk. Bringing her right hand up to her cheek she leaned over, covering the side of her face with her hair, watching Billy out of the corner of her eye as he glanced at her and unfolded the sheet of paper. He glanced at the writing then smiled, crumpling it back up and shoving the paper into his pocket.

Ms. Appleby closed the door to the room and walked back to the front of the classroom. She smiled brightly, clasping her hands together. "Alright class, we're going to start out with the presentation from Zachary, Avalon, and Billy that's been pushed back." She turned to Avalon who sat up straight. "I hope you're feeling well enough to do this."

"Trust me, I don't want this pushed back any longer than I can have it pushed," Avalon said with a half smile. Her fingers curled into her palms, her left foot starting to rev up and down. The last time she had been in class Chase had interrupted and brought her out to the hallway and beat her up. She had managed a few good blows against him, it was only a matter of time until he got into contact with her again—he knew everything about every member of his gang, so he had to have heard she was in the hospital—or he started to stalk her once more. The not knowing was really starting to get to her.

"Would you like to come up?"

"Yes ma'am," Zack said. He got to his feet and he, Avalon, and Billy walked to the front of the classroom. Billy opened his laptop computer and started it up. Zack and Avalon stood on the far side of Ms. Appleby's desk, waiting for their cue. "You ready to go, Kid?" He turned to Avalon.

"Try and stop me," she replied with as much confidence as she could muster. "Though I'm apologizing in advance if I step on your toes or kick you." She held up a finger. "Though I can't say that all of them will be accidental." Zack laughed and clasped her on the shoulder, gently shaking her.

"Don't worry about it," he reassured her. "Once you get started, the nerves will disappear." He reached up and ruffled Avalon's hair. She flinched at the sudden movement of his arm and ducked her head out of the way. Breathing heavily, she turned away from him, facing the other direction, waiting to start. She could feel his eyes on her, but chose not to acknowledge it.

Zack's eyebrows twitched and he glanced at the other rangers. They looked just as concerned as he did. It looked like it was going to take a bit longer for things to get back to normal around them. Zack turned back to Billy, noticing he lifted his gaze from his laptop screen. Zack grinned, he couldn't help but smile whenever he was about to start dancing, the energy that ran through his body always managed to make him smile.

"The piece that we're using for our presentation is Canon in D by Pachelbel," Billy announced. "It was a song that the three of us agreed would be perfect for the dance steps that Zack came up with." He rubbed his hands together. "But we decided to amp things up a little bit, so Avalon recorded a rock version of the song on the electric guitar and I used a music program to add all of the other instruments to it as well. So, we hope you like what we came up with."

Billy pressed a button on the computer and the opening violin strands of Canon in D started to play. Zack and Avalon waited for the electric guitar to come in before they started the routine that Zack came up with. Avalon couldn't stop the smile that formed on her face as she danced along with Zack. All the anxiety rolled out of her as she went through the steps with the black ranger, some in opposition, some along with him, holding onto each other's hands as they did so, moving quicker and quicker as the pace of the song increased. Once they finished and took their bows, their classmates clapped and cheered for them.

Avalon smiled, wiping sweat off her forehead, suddenly becoming a little shy from the attention. She gave a small wave before moving back into her seat. She brushed her hair behind her ear, her eyes moving around the room. Movement caught her attention and with a start, she turned towards the window. She blinked rapidly for a few moments before rubbing her eyes and looking out the window again. She could have sworn she had seen Chase out there…

Avalon shook her head, turning away from the window once more, her smile now gone.

* * *

 

Captain Mitchell drummed his fingers on his desk, his eyes staring at the clock that rested on the wall above his desk. Only a few more minutes and he could finally make the phone call he had been thinking about all day. To try and keep from staring at the clock for the next five minutes, he picked up the file folder once more, flipping through the pages inside. The six pages showed the faces of six teenagers, their smiling faces greeting him with each turn of every page.

"Avalon, you really have made some good friends while you've been out there," he murmured to himself. "Who would have thought that you would end up becoming part of Zordon's power rangers?" He shook his head, placing the folder on the desk once more. "Even when my own plans failed and you got roped up into them."

Leaning back in his chair, he rubbed his suddenly burning eyes. He didn't think he would have had to wait this long just to get into contact with her. Though, for her own safety, it made sense. He couldn't risk having any of their phone lines tapped. Any of their secrets getting out would make things even harder for everyone. Captain Mitchell looked at the clock once more, his body giving a jolt when he noticed that it was finally time to make that call. Reaching out a hand, he picked up the phone and dialed a number. It rang and rang and rang…

Captain Mitchell started to put up the phone, but a feminine, accented voice answered. "Hello?"

"Ellie," Captain Mitchell said into the phone. "It's me…we need to talk…I know this is coming out of nowhere, but it's really important."

There was a long pause, and then a heavy sigh could be heard over the phone. "Alright, Will, what do you need to talk about?"

"Our daughters."

* * *

 

"So the rangers are headed to the beach this weekend," Rita said. She backed away from her telescope, twirling her wand in her hands. Passing Zedd, she smiled over towards him before pacing the floor. "I think now's a good time to show them that they never can get a break."

"Which monster do you think we should go for this time?" Zedd pointed his scepter over towards the rest of their horoscope monsters. "We have plenty to choose from."

"I think we need to make sure the rangers aren't able to stop us any further," Rita said mysteriously. She stopped pacing in front of Goldar and smiled warmly at him. "I think we should start out with Goldar, to weaken them a bit. Then send out one of the others to finish them off."

"Sounds like a plan your Excellency," Goldar said dutifully. He tightened his grip on the sword that was clenched in his hand. "I'll be sure to, finally, crush those rangers into dust."


	27. Trini Fights Back

**Chapter 27**

_Trini Fights Back_

**A/N:** This is a long chapter.

* * *

 

"Mom, Dad, I'm going to the beach," Trini said as she walked down the stairs. She pushed her hair back behind her ears with a headband and walked into the kitchen. She had left her bag at her spot at the kitchen table.

Mr. and Mrs. Kwan sat at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. Mr. Kwan looked up and smiled at his daughter as she maneuvered around the table to get to her bag. "You seem to be a little dressed up for going to the beach," he said with an appreciative smile. "Pretty as a sunflower, but very dressed up."

"Well…" Trini paused, running her hands over each other. "I'm meeting my friends there."

"Friends?" Mrs. Kwan gave a sly smile, lowering her newspaper as well. She gently placed her hands in her lap. "You've never dressed up for your friends before." Her smile slowly widened as she looked her daughter in the eye. "This has to do with a boy doesn't it?" At her mother's accurate deduction, Trini faltered, her mouth falling open for a moment. "I knew it. Vien, she has a boyfriend." She reached out and placed a hand on her husband's arm.

"Relax, Anh, it's not going to be serious," Mr. Kwan said. His voice had gone cold and he lifted the newspaper up to his face once more. Mrs. Kwan's eyebrows furrowed together for a moment before she leaned back in her seat. A tense atmosphere filled the air. "So, who's the boy?"

"He's not my boyfriend, Dad," Trini said politely. "It's only our first date. We don't want it to be awkward so we're hanging out with our friends at the beach."

Mr. Kwan made a grunting sound. "What sort of a date is that? When you're with your friends, you can't get to know the other person." Loudly, he shook out his newspaper then lowered his gaze back to it. Trini could tell from the way his eyes moved that he wasn't actually reading the paper, but doing his best to avoid her gaze.

 _What's going on?_ Trini frowned, willing herself to stay calm. It was the way she lived life, staying as calm as she could, keeping her extreme emotions and energies inside as long as she needed to. It was the way of practicing tai-chi; it improved psychological health, improved your balance, and increased your overall wellness. It took a lot for her to get angry, though Rita, Zedd, and their monsters were some of the few things that could easily rip it out of her.

"Who's the boy?" Mr. Kwan repeated.

Trini could feel the tension rise and for a moment she was even more confused than she had been before. She was always good at sensing other people's energies and the calming energy of that house, the protective aura around them had shifted.

"Billy," Trini finally responded. "It's Billy. He asked me out a couple of weeks ago."

Mrs. Kwan stifled a gasp and turned to her husband, who slapped down the newspaper and started to stand up. She reached out and grabbed onto him. "Vien, please don't be upset." Her plea fell on deaf ears.

"You know that you're going to marry whomever we decide for you," Mr. Kwan said to his daughter. She stayed silent, chewing her lower lip. Interrupting him would be a sign of disrespect. Respect was something their family took very seriously. "A nice Vietnamese man. Not an American who has no values."

"Billy isn't like that, Daddy," Trini said in a low voice. She cleared her throat, lifting her chin as she spoke in a controlled tone. "And you know that I don't want to have my marriage arranged for me. I want to be able to choose who I marry. I want to fall in love myself."

"Trini." Mrs. Kwan said her daughter's name quietly. The yellow ranger could hear the warning in her voice and she moved her eyes over to her mother, pleading with her. How could they do this? How could they impose the old ideas, the old ways on her now?

They had met Billy; he had been over to their house numerous times and had welcomed him with open arms. Now that she was going on a date with him they acted like he was a common criminal. That he was going to steal her away from them.

Trini took in a deep breath; she could feel her frustration start to take her over and quelled the feeling, stuffing it back down as far as she could. She knew she would have lived in regret if she followed her feelings on the matter. She could voice her opinions and be herself around her friends and classmates, outside of school. Inside her home she was restricted in more ways than she thought possible.

"I'm going to the beach," She said, her cheerful tone now gone. "I'll be back later." She leaned forward and gave her parents a kiss on the cheek before she picked up her things and left the house. She pulled out her cell phone and texted Kimberley and Avalon in a group text.

 **Trini:** I've got something I need to talk to you guys about.

 **Kim:** What's going on, Trin? Did you not like the clothes I helped pick out for you?

 **Avalon:** Why wasn't I invited to help pick out clothes?

 **Kim:** Because you don't like anything I like.

 **Avalon:** And that's a problem? It's good to get two opinions on things like this.

 **Kim:** Yeah, but your opinion doesn't count. You like to wear flannel and while the Kurt Cobain look totally works for you, I can't associate myself with someone that doesn't think it's a problem.

Trini smiled as she watched the texts flood in. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like if she were more outspoken like Kimberley and Avalon, but she didn't dwell on it. Everyone was made different on purpose or else things would be all the same. There wouldn't be different relationships and friendships that would form if they were all the same.

Trini briefly closed her eyes. She had just bummed herself out again. She couldn't face it at the moment. They were going to the surf competition to support Avalon and to have fun. She didn't want to ruin it.

 **Trini:** I'll meet you guys at the beach. I'm headed there right now.

Trini placed her phone in her pocket and walked over to her car, a small four seater, slipping into the driver's seat. She started the car, put on her seat belt, and headed off down the street towards the beach.

* * *

 

Avalon gently shook her head as she dropped her phone and placed it in her sports bag, picking it up and balancing it on her shoulder. "Bailey, are you ready to go?" Avalon pulled her hair up into a ponytail before grabbing a beach towel from the bed beside her. Not getting a response, she turned around to see Bailey sitting in the middle of her bed, holding onto some sort of scanner. It emitted a high-pitched whine as she continued to move it up and down Avalon's Stegosaurus zord. "Bay?"

"Hang on a tick," Bailey muttered. After a few seconds she stopped, sighing as she dropped the scanner. "The molecular scanner is still reading that on a molecular level, Steggy is OK, but on a structure level, there's still a bit of Rita's magic in here." She cupped her hands around the Stegosaurus zord and got up from the bed, walking to her sister. "So your zord is still going to be this small until we can find a way to make her big again. There may be some sort of scanner or reversal that Billy or I could cook up, maybe something that will make it grow during a battle—"

"Her," Avalon interrupted. Bailey's right eyebrow lowered in confusion. "Steggy's a girl."

Bailey gave a short laugh. "How would you know?"

Avalon shrugged. "I don't know, I just have a feeling my zord is a she. Though it'd make sense." She reached out and gently grabbed onto Steggy, placing her on her shoulder. "I mean, does a pterodactyl seem more vicious as a boy or a girl to you?"

Bailey shrugged, shaking her head. "Doesn't really matter to me as long as I can get them running right," She said. Looking at her watched, she leaned over and picked up a drawstring bag, placing it around her shoulders. "And, affirmative, I'm ready to go."

Avalon gave Bailey a critical look. "God, you've been spending too much time with Billy at the Command Center," she remarked. Bailey merely smiled and the two girls left their room and headed downstairs. Billy was sitting on the couch, waiting for them, holding a bouquet of flowers between his legs. "Going all out with the flowers, yeah?"

"I figured I'd make a good impression," Billy said with a half smile. A light pink hue spread across his cheeks. Avalon and Bailey exchanged glances then looked at him again. He rubbed his hands on the sides of his swim trunks, gently scratching at his arm. "Is it customary to be this tense?"

"For a first date?" Avalon clarified then nodded. "Yeah, mate, everyone gets nervous for their first date." She placed a hand on her hip, scratching the side of her neck. "But you and Trini have been friends for a long time, so it shouldn't be that bad."

She chewed her bottom lip for a long moment her mind wandering. As per usual, it got stuck on Chase and the rest of the Vipers and what they were doing as well as what was going on with the High Flyers. It wasn't like them to be quiet for so long, maybe they caught wind of their move and was waiting for the perfect moment to strike again. Maybe he was waiting for a time where she was alone to rough her up. She wouldn't put it past him. He hadn't called or texted her, telling her to come out and meet with them, so something was definitely wrong.

A cold wave washed over her. She did her best to keep it from being evident on her face as she turned and grabbed her surfboard from resting on the wall beside the door. "If we don't get going now, we're going to be really late." She glanced at Billy out of the corner of her eye. "And something tells me that you're going to be the one to make us late."

Billy gave another half-hearted attempt at a smile. He stood up and joined the girls at the door. "It's probably imperative that we leave my parents a note in case they come back and are wondering where we went."

"You actually leave notes for your parents?" Bailey's eyes widened and for a moment she and Avalon exchanged another glance, suddenly realizing how different their lives were compared to the other rangers'.

"Yeah, it tells them where I am and shows them that I care enough to let them know," Billy said. "I mean, it's better than having them worry at all hours of the day, or night as the case may be, wondering what I'm doing, who I'm doing it with, what-"

"Thanks, Smurf" Avalon said sarcastically. "Feeling the love."

Billy thought for a moment then shook his head. "My apologies, Avalon. I didn't mean to insinuate that what you had done in the past is—"

Avalon held up a hand, effectively cutting him off. "It's alright, Billy. Don't worry about it." Her face softened after a moment. "Please, just don't act like I'm going to blow up at every slight thing I've done before. I hate that. Besides,"—she smiled—"we have more pressing things to worry about."

"We do?"

"Yep." Bailey nodded in agreement. She walked over to Billy and stood on her tiptoes, running her fingers through his hair, messing up the strands a little bit. "Now that we've gotten that taken care of, how about loosening your choke hold on those flowers?"

Billy looked down and saw that his fingertips had turned white from where they pressed into the flower stems. He quickly relaxed his grip, allowing the color to return to his digits.

"Ok, now take a deep breath," Avalon instructed. Billy did as he was told, his chest swelling. "And let it out." Billy's chest lowered once more. "Ok, take another deep breath, and _relax._ We're all going to be there so a lot of the pressure will be taken off." She turned and picked up her surfboard, tucking it under her arm. "Are you sure you can make it the whole way there?"

"Yes, yes, I'll be ok."

"Good."

Avalon and Bailey waited as Billy wrote out the note to his parents, letting them know they'd be at the beach. Avalon ran a hand through her hair before turning to her sister. "Hey, I just wanted to apologize for everything," she said under her breath. Bailey glanced at her in confused. "For having you keep our secret for so long and having you deal with so much stress and pressure." She shook her head. "It wasn't my place to ask you to do that and you're a pretty cool little sis for doing it."

"It's ok, Av," Bailey reassured her. "I would do anything for you, you know that. I just…I just hope that things are finally done." She shook her head. "I just…I _really_ want things to be better for us now. I want to be able to be a kid, yeah, but I want _you_ to be able to be a teenager, not my mom." She started to wring out her hands. "You have friends to hang out with, finally, and clubs to join, and events to go to, and maybe get a boyfriend—"

"Don't you start, too!" Avalon protested.

"I'm sorry, but Tommy is going out with Kim, Billy is going out with Trini-"

"-You're going out with Fred-"

"—I'm not talking about that—"

"—too bad, I am—"

"—Av—"

"—Don't Av me. I'm making sure my little sister is safe. And how come I haven't met this guy—"

Billy who had come out of the kitchen, having stuck the note on the refrigerator door, watched as the Mitchell sisters argued with each other. His eyes moved back and forth like ping-pong balls as they continued to bicker, waving their hands around when they were needed. He chuckled to himself, having been an only child for so long, he was glad to have some excitement and chaos going on in his life. And you couldn't have chaos without the Mitchell sisters nearby. Billy opened the front door and the three left the house, got into the Cranstons' car, and headed off to the beach.

On the way there the three bobbed along to the songs that were playing on the radio, otherwise they stayed silent. Avalon was trying her hardest to get into the mind space of the surf competition; however she couldn't help but stare at each person they passed on the way. Was that someone that Chase knew? Were they going to show up at the house later and hurt someone? The sooner they went to the police would either mean she could live without anxiety or she would be in hiding for the rest of her life.

Trying to keep her identity as a power ranger a secret was proving to be a lot easier than she had anticipated in comparison.

"We're here!" Bailey shouted, leaning forward into the front seat of the car. Her sudden screamed caused Billy to jump and swerve the car slightly as he pulled into the parking lot. Tommy, Kimberly, Jason, and Zack were standing by Tommy's black jeep with Trini and Fred at their side. Once she caught sight of Fred, Bailey let out a light shriek and dropped back onto the seats behind her.

"What is she doing?" Jason asked as he walked over to the car. He rested his arms against the side and leaned down to peer into the windows. Flashing a charming smile, he shook his head. "I think all of that time cooped up in the Command Center is starting to mess with her head."

"She's always been like this, you'll get used to it," Avalon said dryly.

Jason reached out and grabbed onto the door handle, opening the door and holding it out for her. Avalon gave him a nod of thanks, unbuckling herself and sliding out of the car. She placed her hands on her hips and turned to look at the ocean. The waves were perfect for that day, about four or five footers if she had to guess from the face of the wave and where she was standing. Being in the water will definitely keep her mind off of things.

"Listen," Jason said, coming up to her side. He placed a hand on her shoulder and Avalon jumped, bringing a hand up to her forehead.

"Don't do that," she muttered under her breath, her eyes briefly closing.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Jason apologized. "Are you sure you're ok? I mean, things like this can make people sort of jumpy and Dad says that with everything you're going to have to talk to the police about…we all just want you to be ok."

"I am OK," Avalon replied. She tilted her head up to look him in the eye. "Though something tells me this wasn't what you wanted to talk to me about." She poked him on the tip of his nose. "I can see it in your eyes, you're up to something." Her eyes lit up as Jason grinned and she crossed her arms over her chest. "What is it?"

"Zack and I have a plan to make sure that Billy doesn't get too nervous and try to wimp out today," Jason said finally. He glanced over his shoulder and Avalon followed his gaze to see Billy had moved over to Trini and was shyly handing her the bouquet of flowers he had gotten her and that Tommy and Kimberly were standing nearby, trying not to listen but obviously were.

"Like?" Avalon prompted.

"Well, we're going to try and get them alone as much as possible, so hopefully Tommy and Kim will watch Bailey and Fred or something. And then you're going t be out surfing, so Zack and I'll watch em' to be sure that things are going smoothly." He now had a shit-eating grin on his face and Avalon could see just how badly he wanted to make sure the blue ranger was happy.

"What do you want me to do?" Avalon slowed the bounce on her toes, now using the movement to stretch out her hamstrings. "I'm not going to be in the water the whole time we're here." She then shrugged carelessly. "I guess I could torture Bay for a while, make sure she stays out of their hair."

"Sweet!" Jason rubbed his hands together. "We'll go find a spot and we can get started." He held up a hand and Avalon gave him a high-five.

"Is she in on the plan?" Zack moved around the side of the car, holding onto Avalon's surfboard. He handed it over to her and she brought the board close to her face, taking in the scent of the coconut scented board wax.

"You got it," Avalon said. She held out her hand and Zack gave her a high-five as well. "Just keep me posted whenever I come in and out of the water and things will go on from there." Tucking her surfboard under her arm the three walked over and joined their friends. "You lot ready to go?"

"Almost," Bailey said. She turned and pointed to Fred before gently grabbing his arm, pulling him forward. "This is my _friend_ ,"—she stressed the word, shooting Avalon a quick glare—"Fred Kelman. Fred, this is my sister, Avalon."

Avalon move her lower jaw to the side for a moment then moved her surfboard to her other arm, sticking out her hand to Fred, gripping his hand and shaking it firmly. "It's nice to finally meet you, Fred."

"You too," Fred agreed. "I mean, I was there when you were sent to the hospital, so I'm glad that you're doing better." He glanced over at Bailey, who gave a small smile.

"He's been doing really well with Tommy's and Jason's lessons," Kimberly spoke up, her arms looped through the white ranger's. She smiled up at him before turning back to her. "He's really good at it too; I've seen them practicing a few times. They're both quick learners."

"She's right," Tommy agreed. "They're some of the quickest students I've had to teach. Jase and I were starting to wonder what we were going to do with them." Tommy reached out and lightly hit Jason the chest.

 _She wouldn't have to if it wasn't for me,_ Avalon thought. She quickly shook the thought away. She would have been worrying more if Bailey wasn't doing something to protect herself. She could only be so grateful to them.

"So should we get going?" Trini spoke up as a comfortable silence fell among the group. There was a unanimous agreement and the rangers, Bailey, and Fred moved out of the parking lot and onto the beach.

As they stepped onto the sand and started to set up their beach towels, Avalon unzipped her surfboard from the bag and headed out to the water to get some practice runs in. "Today would be such a good day to go scuba diving," Trini said as she sat down on a blanket, pushing down the bottom of her dress as it blew up around her, carried along by the wind. She looked up at Billy as he hesitated a moment before sitting down beside her. "You know, you never took us up on our offer of going out again."

"I've been meaning to, honestly," Billy replied. He brought his knees up and encircled his arms around them. "It would be a great place to get some samples for some experiments that I'd like to try." He bobbed his head back and forth. "It's kind of silly, but I've thought about trying to find a way to make our weapons waterproof or be powered by water, just in case something happens while we're in a battle." He looked over at Trini, waiting for her reaction.

She looked at him for a long moment then reached out, grabbing onto his arm with both hands. She grinned at him, leaning closer so he could accurately guess the scent of her body spray, lavender, on her body. Her teeth gleamed in contrast against her dark hair. "Billy, that's genius!"

"Who wants to get a drink?" Zack's loud question caused the blue and yellow rangers to look at each other and then look away, embarrassment gracing their faces. They hadn't even realized that everyone else was still around them. "I want a drink." He pointed to Jason. "Do you want a drink?" Jason nodded. "Let's go get a drink."

He and Jason started to walk away from the blue and yellow rangers, Bailey and Fred following along with them. Kimberly, giggling to herself, grabbed onto Tommy's arm and the two started to walk down the beach in the opposite direction Jason and Zack had gone. She glanced back at the two of them and waved before turning back to Tommy.

"I believe we just got set up," Billy said.

"I think so, too," Trini agreed. She shrugged, tucking her hair behind her ear. "But it's not so bad, is it?"

Billy shook his head. "Negative."

* * *

 

"Now that the rangers are enjoying their day off, they're doing all of our work for us," Rita said with a loud cackle. She twisted her wand in her hand before turning to Zedd, who was standing beside her, scanning the earth. "They've all split up and left each other defenseless."

"Those little lovebirds are going to be the first to go," Zedd added. He tapped his fingertips on the edge of the balcony. He turned and gave Rita a kiss. "The white and pink rangers have been together long enough, they always have a way of coming out on top when they're together. But the blue and yellow ranger…she seems to save him more often than not. That information can prove to be useful."

"Are you ready for me my Excellency?" Goldar walked up behind the Emperor and Empress of evil. "The putties and I will do as much damage as we can while Piscessen crashes the surf competition, taking out the other rangers. With the element of water all around, there's no way he can be defeated."

Behind him, the horoscope monster that represented Pisces, Piscessen, walked up. It appeared to be a human, though had gills on its neck as well as fins coming off the sides of his face, his arms, and his legs. He nodded at Rita and Zedd.

"The best part about this monster is that when in the water, he can grow a tail and swim around as well," Rita said with a smug smile. "That way we can have the rangers beat on land and in the sea."

"We can finally defeat the rangers once and for all!" Zedd lifted his scepter into the air and the giant 'Z' let out sparks and crackled with red electricity, shooting around the lunar palace. Squatt, Babboo, and Finster all ducked in cover as to not get hit by the flying bolts.

"Shall we go down now?" Goldar added, grabbing onto his sword.

"Yes, you and the putties will go down first and tire them out, distract them, and then Piscessen will go out into the water," Zedd instructed.

"You got it!" Goldar cheered.

The monsters and putties disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

 

"Ay yi yi yi yi!" Alpha cried as he watched the viewing globe. Goldar, the putties, and Piscessen appeared on the beach and started to attack those that were lying on the sand. "Zordon, Rita's Piscessen monster has been released on the beach. We have to contact the rangers!"

"The rangers shall know the immediate danger momentarily," Zordon said. "There's no need to try and bring attention to them in such a public place. However, this may be the time that we need to reveal the Ankylosaurus power coin."

"Zordon, you can't mean-"

"Yes, Alpha," Zordon interrupted Alpha. "We need to have the power given over to the one that can take in the power of that power coin. I know the risks, it will be one of the hardest to control, but whoever can take that power will be able to help us in our quest."

"If you're sure, Zordon," Alpha said. He walked over to a back portion of the Command Center and pressed a button on a panel on the wall. A secret door opened and Alpha walked inside. He went over o the white cube that now glowed red, pink, black, yellow, white, and a dark purple-back color intermediately. Alpha took the cube as well as the power coin that lay shining along with it. "I believe we may not need to use the coin if we can use the cube."

"I don't believe that's the best way to go, Alpha," Zordon advised him.

"I do," Alpha insisted. "Please, Zordon. Trust me on this one." He gripped the cube and power coin tightly in his hands before turning back to the viewing globe. "I know I just have to wait for the perfect time. But I know this will work."

When the putties and Goldar arrived on the beach, the putties immediately started running around. Any beach goer in the vicinity sat up and started to run around, screaming as putties knocked over their coolers, beach chairs, flipped over picnic tables, and shook out towels and blankets everywhere.

Jason, Zack, Bailey, and Fred had just been walking back from the snack stand, drinks in hand when putties had leapt out in front of them, knocking their drinks out of their hands and onto the sand.

"Putties!" Bailey cried, immediately falling into the fighting stance that Jason and Tommy had shown her.

"What are they doing here?" Fred shifted his hat so that it faced the front and fell into a fighting stance as well. He clenched his hands into fists and started to rock back and forth on his heels, getting ready to fight.

"Great," Zack said with a heavy sigh, moving his hands up to shield his face. A putty jumped forward and tried to kick him, but he pushed its foot back to the ground. "On the day that things need to go well."

"I know, we haven't had a day off or a day just filled with fun in a while," Jason agreed. He shook out his hands then started forward at a brisk pace. "We may as well get rid of these clay-heads first!" Jason spun on the balls of his feet and kicked a putty right in the middle of the Z. It broke apart and he turned, ducking under a flying fist, and kneed another putty in the chest.

Zack, with his quick footwork, shifted back and forth across the sand, kicking some up into some putties' faces. They placed their hands over their faces and backed away, allowing Zack some time to run forward and jumped up, lifting his feet into a split and hit two of them in the chest as he did so. Spinning around, he drove his elbowed into another putty's face then aimed a kick at its leg. It backed up a few instances and with a cry, Zack leaned over onto his right foot and struck his left one out into a putty. Zack let out a cry of pain, holding onto his toes.

"Ok, now I know why these things are tougher than Rita's putties."

Bailey and Fred moved back to back, ducking, bobbing, and weaving out of the way as putties circled around them. Their constant foot worked proved them to be a significant fighting force with each other as they used each other's blind spots to their own advantage. When Bailey leaned to the side to get out of the way of a kick that head to her feet, Fred bent down on a knee and turned to the side, lashing out his fist and hitting a putty as well. Bailey grabbed onto Fred's arm and swung herself around, using the momentum of the swing to kick a couple putties then did a judo sweep, knocking one to the ground before flipping onto it, slamming her fist into its chest.

The putties all broke apart, leaving the four of them standing in the middle of the sand, breathing heavily. "Good one, Bailey," Zack said, patting the younger girl on the shoulder. She smiled and nodded at him.

"You need to get to safety," Jason said, turning to her, a serious tone coming to his voice. Bailey opened her mouth to protest, but when Jason's eyes shifted over to Fred, who was still standing beside her, she understood. He didn't want to risk them blowing their cover, revealing their identity of being power rangers unless it was absolutely necessary.

"What about you guys?" Fred demanded, his eyes darting back and forth from the three. "We can help you out!"

"Right now the only thing that'll help us is knowing that you guys are safe," Jason insisted.

Bailey nodded and grabbed onto Fred's arm. She started to lead him off the beach, stopping in her tracks when hers, Jason's, and Zack's communicators all went off. She hesitated for only a moment before continuing up the beach, dragging Fred along with her.

* * *

 

Billy walked over to Trini, handing her an ice cream cone before sitting down next to her. He brought his cone, chocolate chip cookie dough, up to his mouth and took a lick before smiling over at hers. "Is yours of adequate temperature?"

Trini smiled and nodded back. "Yeah, it's fine." She licked her own cone before looking out on the water. Avalon, who had gotten to an empty part of the ocean sat on her surfboard, arms crossed as she waited for a wave to form in front of her. When it did, she got down on her stomach and started paddling towards the wave. Once it formed, bringing Avalon up on top, she leapt to her feet and went speeding down the face of the wave, the fingertips of her left hand skimming the water. "She's really good."

"That's the ideal about living in a water based place such as the Oceanic region of the world," Billy said with a smile. "Being able to live on beaches like this all the time. It proves wonders for those that are skilled in aquatics."

"You know, surfing is a lot like tai-chi," Trini said. Billy cast her a curious glance and she nodded, pausing to take another bite of her cone before continuing. "When doing tai-chi, you're paying attention to your natural energy and you're using that energy to empower the rest of your body and gives you a powerful mind, body, and spirit. Surfing is the same idea, though you're listening to the natural energy of the ocean…the earth." She held up a hand, making a wave motion from her fingertips to her wrist in a fluid motion. "Just like the wind."

"Wow," Billy said. He shifted a little bit closer to her. "That's really cool, Trin. It's no wonder you like to practice it."

"It's a family thing," Trini said. She shrugged, her smile immediately fading. "A lot of things are."

Billy was about to question the sudden change in her tone but was cut off as Goldar suddenly appeared in front of him. Anticipating the blow that was about to come his way, he leapt to the side, shielding his face as Goldar swung his sword down. The blow connected with the sand, sending sparks and grains everywhere.

"Billy? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm alright," Billy called back. He got to his feet and the two scrambled backwards as Goldar raised his sword.

"Don't even try to fight power brats," he snarled, waving his sword overhead. "We have the power to make sure you're going to lose this time around!" He pointed out towards the water and the rangers turned, watching as Piscessen stepped into the water and grew a tail. He disappeared into the water, falling under a wave, heading towards the surfers that were still bobbing in the water, waiting for the competition to start.

 _Oh no!_ Billy turned back to Goldar, his eyes narrowed, hands clenching. The surfers were sitting ducks out there. From where they were sitting, they might not have known that anything was even wrong.

Though he hated to admit it, Goldar had done a good job of waiting for the rangers to be split up.

"Billy, Trini, are you ok?" Kimberly and Tommy raced back over to their friends, kicking up sand as they went.

"Yeah, we're fine," Trini replied, reaching out and giving the pink ranger's hand a quick squeeze. Kimberly gave her a sympathetic look which Trini shook off. There was no need to apologize for the date being interrupted. They had more important things to deal with at the moment. "Just ready to kick this guy's butt!"

"You won't be speaking so highly of yourselves when I get through with you!" Goldar declared.

"Are we in the clear?" Tommy asked.

Billy quickly searched around, eyes scanning the beach as quickly as possible. Apart from those in the water, there didn't seem to be anyone on the beach. He turned back to Tommy and nodded. "We're clear, Tommy."

"Get ready guys."

"Right!"

"It's Morphin' Time!"

"Tiger Zord!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-tooth tiger!"

The four rangers charged towards Goldar, all attacking at once. The monster ducked out of their way, swinging their sword and striking them with each hit. The blow knocked them backwards onto the ground, but they sprang back up and started to attack once more, not allowing themselves to be defeated.

Billy summoned more power, his gloved hands glowing blue. "Aqua strike!" His hands conjured a stream of hard water that shot forward and smacked Goldar in the middle of the chest, knocking him backwards.

"Power Bow!" Kimberly called. She held her hand up in the air and summoned her power weapon and pulled the string back on her bow. An arrow appeared and as she let go, it flew forward and stuck Goldar in the arm, a direct hit as well.

"You're going to pay for that, power rangers!" Goldar called, pointing to them. He let out a roar of fury and charged forward once more, swinging his sword as he did so. Tommy and Trini managed to duck out of the way, but Billy and Kimberly were both caught in the chest, sending them writhing to the ground.

"Billy! Kim!" Tommy called.

"Oh no!" Trini summoned her power dangers. She jumped high into the air and struck Goldar at close range. "Hiya!" Goldar fell back. "You're not going to get away with hurting them. I won't let you!"

"Trini, stop, it's too dangerous!" Tommy called, as he kneeled by Kimberly's side. The pink and blue rangers were still writhing on the ground, trying to get back up.

"Trini, don't," Billy managed to gasp.

"We need to regroup and think of something else." He looked behind him as a piercing scream split the air. Trini whirled around and watched as the surfers seemed to get buffeted by a whirlpool that came out of nowhere, pulling them in. Avalon, who had gone up to get another wave, seemed not to have seen it, and was knocked off her board, flying into the water. "We need to save everyone in the water."

Trini shook her head, closing her eyes beneath her helmet. She was being pulled too many ways. First one way with her parents, wanting to control who she was going to date, now with the rangers, trying to protect them and protect those that were in the water.

Which was more important?

Trini shook her head again.

Everything was important, why did she always have to make a choice? Why couldn't she live her life the way _she_ wanted to? Well, she knew what she was going to do this time; she was going to help her friends. Jason and Zack could help everyone else in the water.

"Goodbye power rangers!" Goldar said, lifting his sword.

"I don't think so!" Trini lifted her hands and gripped her power daggers, crossing them as Goldar brought his sword down towards her. "Hiya!" She pushed him back and slashed him across the face. He stumbled back, dropping his sword. "Goldar, you're going to pay for ruining everyone's day at the beach and for threatening my friends." She could feel her anger take her over at that point, her frustration from earlier taking her over. And for once, she was glad she was allowing herself to give into the feeling.

It felt foreign to her; it felt good, therapeutic to be able to release it, nonetheless.

All of a sudden, there was a bright flash of white light and a glowing cube appeared in front of Trini's face. "Trini!" Alpha's voice came over her communicator. "Take the cube; harness the power it'll give you!"

"You got it, Alpha!" Trini replied. She reached out and grabbed onto the cube. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the power that the cube was giving her. She could see the white energy glowing in her eyes and watched as it formed a new form of power. Electricity. Trini closed her hand into a fist, the cube disappearing, and saw it crackle with electricity around her.

"Whoa," Kimberly said behind her.

"Trini's got a new power," Tommy said.

"Just like me and Avalon," Billy added.

Trini backed up a few steps as Goldar got back to her feet. "Those new magic tricks aren't going to save you, power rangers!" Once again raising his sword, Goldar raced towards her.

"I don't think so!" Trini brought her gloved hands together, rubbing them firmly, and then extended her arms to their full length. Electricity shot out of her hands and enveloped Goldar. He screamed and fell onto his back moments before he was taken back to the lunar palace. "Yeah!" She turned around as Billy, Tommy, and Kimberly headed her way.

"Great job, Trini," Kimberly congratulated her, giving her a hug.

"That was truly morphenomenal," Billy added, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Purely fortitudinous."

"Now to stop Piscessen," Tommy declared, turning to the water.

* * *

 

Avalon resurfaced and brought her hands up onto her surfboard. Underneath her, she could feel her legs getting pulled towards the whirlpool that had appeared out of nowhere. Surfers screamed and paddled towards the beach, trying their hardest to fight against the whirlpool as it continued to swirl around. However, this whirlpool was actually moving through the water, back and forth.

"This is definitely one of Rita's monsters," Avalon managed to say. She gritted her teeth, starting to climb up onto her board. She had to get to the beach to grab her power morpher so she could morph. Before she could lift herself up, she felt a strong tug on her foot and was pulled under water, only managing to get air a few seconds before she was pulled under.

She looked around, salt water stinging her eyes as she came face to face with Piscessen. Now with a mermaid's tail, he grinned at her, teeth as razor sharp as his fins. "I've got you now, orange ranger!" He said and swam at remarkable speeds towards her.

Avalon closed her eyes and concentrated on the power deep inside her. She could feel the water around her starting to bubble and felt the hold on her ankle loosen. Opening her eyes, she saw Piscessen swimming backwards, screeching in pain. She had actually managed to boil the water! She had done it enough times back at the apartment when the heat had been turned off. Long enough for her and Bailey to get some hot water for food and to take showers. She didn't think she'd be able to do it on a grand scale.

Avalon swam back up to the surface and spotted her surfboard floating back towards the beach. Piscessen had snapped her board leash off. He was trying to isolate her.

"Oh, fuck that," Avalon murmured. She swam backwards as Piscessen breached the water and slammed into her, forcing her back down under water. He raked a fin across her cheek, spilling blood into the water. Avalon swung out her arm, her movement was slow and the punch was even weaker.

Piscessen whirled around and smacked her in the stomach with his mermaid tail, sending Avalon spinning through the water. She couldn't tell which the sky was and which the bottom of the ocean was as she rode the spin cycle.

Her chest started to burn.

Piscessen shot forward and smacked her again.

Avalon tried her hardest to keep her mouth closed; knowing what would happen if she did. But she couldn't help it. She opened her mouth wide…and took in a gasp of air. Peeking her eyes open, Avalon found that she was sitting inside a bubble in the water. Piscessen swam up to the bubble and smacked into it, ricocheting back the way he came.

"Are you ok, Av?"

Avalon whipped her head around and looked at Billy as he crouched beside her in the bubble he had formed. He looked at her from behind her helmet, waiting anxiously for her response.

"I'm fine," she finally said then gave a playful grin. "To quote you: Impeccable timing, Smurf. I thought the others were kidding when they said you were always punctual." Though she couldn't see his face, she could tell that he was smiling as well.

"It's one of my better qualities," Billy said. He looked around as Piscessen charged the bubble once more. "You need to get back to the beach and get your morpher. I'll hold off Piscessen as long as I can. The others are waiting as well."

"Try and stop me," Avalon said. She placed her hands on the side of the bubble and nodded over at Billy. He nodded back and she took a deep breath as the bubble opened and she was back in the water. Kicking her legs as hard as she could, Avalon resurfaced and started swimming back to the shore as fast as she could go. Part of the way there, she could see Jason and Zack running up the beach towards them.

Jason turned and changed direction, springing into the water towards her. Avalon felt her feet scrap against sand and she struggled to stand up against her forward momentum, trying not to pitch forward. "Are you ok?" Jason called to her as he continued towards her.

"No worries!" Avalon called back.

Jason reached her and grabbed onto her hand, pulling her out of the water. The two ran into the shallow end and up onto the beach. Jason glanced behind them and suddenly stopped short. He pressed his hands onto Avalon's shoulders, forcing her down onto the sand before covering her. "Get down!" He covered Avalon's head with his arms as Piscessen went flying overhead, crashing into the sand. Billy came flying out of the water after him.

"Aqua Strike!" His attack hit Piscessen in the back and drove him forward into the beach.

"Here you go, Kid!" Zack came running back with the other rangers.

"Was Steggy still in my bag?" Avalon asked. Zack nodded and tossed Avalon her power morpher. She caught it in her hand and her grin came back to her face. "I'm ready to kick this monster's ass," She said.

"It's morphin' time!" Jason called.

"Stegosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Tyrannosaurs!"

"Power Rangers!" The six called, all taking up battle stances as Piscessen got to his feet. He turned around and hissed at the rangers, his tail turning into feet. He started to sprint towards them. Trini looked over at Avalon and Billy and the three nodded.

"Thunder Crash!"

"Fire Blast!"

"Aqua Strike!"

The electricity, fire, and water attacks all combined and smacked into Piscessen, causing him to screech in pain and fall onto the sand. Zack let out a cheer. Tommy stuck his hand out in front of him. "Don't cheer just yet," he said. "This monster seems stronger somehow."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Piscessen was hit with a red lightning beam and enlarged the monster until it was stories high.

"He's right," Bailey's voice suddenly came through their communicators. "Sorry for the wait, guys, but I had to get rid of Fred and then teleport back here." She cleared her throat, changing the subject. "According to my readings, this monster is a lot stronger than any of the horoscope monsters we've already faced."

"That means we'll have to use stronger fighting power," Zack declared. "We need Thunder Megazord power now!"

"Mastodon, Lion, Thunderzord power!"

"Triceratops, Unicorn, Thunderzord power!"

"Pterodactyl, Firebird, Thunderzord power!"

"Saber-Tooth Tiger, Gryphon Thunderzord power!"

"Tyrannosaurs, Red Dragon, Thunderzord power!"

"White Tiger Thunderzord power!"

The rangers waited until their zords were close enough before jumping up into the cockpit. Avalon settled into her seat behind Billy, pressing buttons and pulling levers as the power source of the zord slowly rose. "Still can't believe your triceratops turns into a freaking unicorn," she muttered under her breath.

"If you want me to explain why a unicorn is a superior creature, I could," Billy offered.

"Let's wait until after we beat this thing," Avalon said.

The zords all came together to create the Thunder Megazord and Tommy transformed his White Tiger Thunder Zord into its warrior mode, both zords ready to fight the monster. Piscessen hissed and launched himself towards the rangers, striking them over and over again. His element being water made him move fluidly, making it harder for the rangers to get a solid hit on him. They went back and forth a few times before using the swords from both zords knocked Piscessen to the ground where he flailed like a fish out of water.

"Let's see what these powers can really do," Trini said. She closed her eyes and the cube appeared in her cockpit in front of her. It glowed a bright yellow along with her portion of the Thunder Mega Zord. "Lighting Sword!" The sword charged up, crackled with electricity and swung down, slashing Piscessen.

To their amazement, Piscessen screamed and slowly fell to the ground before exploding.

"Yeah!" The rangers cheered.

* * *

 

"Oh, I can't believe the rangers defeated Piscessen so easily!" Rita moped, watching as her latest monster got destroyed by the power rangers. "We were so close."

"Goldar, what happened down there?" Zedd pulsated, turning to the golden monster who cowered in fear under his master's rage. "You had everything handled and then you ruined everything."

"The rangers got a new power," Goldar defended himself. "The yellow ranger was stronger than I was used to."

"Imbecile!" Zedd snapped and sent electricity through Goldar's body.

"Oh, I'm getting a headache," Rita whimpered. She picked up her wand and stalked back to hers and Zedd's bedroom. Maybe Goldar's pitiful screams of mercy would calm her down enough for her to fall asleep.

* * *

 

The rangers teleported back to the Command Center after their battle with Goldar, the putties, and Piscessen. They congratulated each other as Alpha and Bailey walked over to congratulate them as well. "That seemed like a really tough fight guys," Bailey said with a smile and a nod. "You really pulled it off." Avalon grinned and put her arm around her sister's shoulders. Steggy, who was resting on her shoulder, made a mechanical sound of approval.

"We couldn't have done it if it wasn't for Trini's new power," Jason said and gave her a charming smile. "Who knows what would have happened to us if you didn't allow yourself to tap into it."

"Yeah, Trini, you were great," Kimberly agreed, giving her best friend a squeeze.

"I wouldn't say I was that good," Trini said modestly, though she was smiling just as brightly as the other rangers were. "I couldn't have done any of it without you guys around to help me out."

Zack turned his attention to Avalon. "I'm just sorry that it had to interrupt your surf competition," he said to her. She shrugged, waving a hand. "But, it's something that we agreed to do and it's a promise we have to keep."

"It seems more like a job than anything else," Avalon mumbled.

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life," Trini said mysteriously. She placed a hand on Avalon's shoulder, squeezing it. Avalon smiled over at her, placing her hand on top of Trini's and squeezing it back.

Trini smiled over at Billy and he smiled and nodded at her.

"Rangers," Zordon said. "You have greatly inhibited Rita's and Zedd's monster arsenal with the defeat of Piscessen. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Zordon." Tommy smiled. He beamed with pride. Each of the rangers did. Getting a compliment from Zordon was something they lived for, knowing they were doing a good job to save Earth despite their doubts from time to time.

"We had to use the Power Cube," Alpha continued. "As we weren't sure if you would have the power to defeat Piscessen on your own." He looked over at Zordon. The power rangers' mentor glanced back at him then looked away. Alpha knew what that meant. It wasn't the time to reveal the Ankylosaurus Power Coin.

"It that's the case, if you didn't think we could defeat him, then why are they rangers?" Bailey asked. She turned around to look up at Zordon. "I don't mean to question you, but, Av has the power of two rangers and even then, it doesn't always help. So how would giving the rest of the rangers the element powers do what she can't?"

Billy looked up at Zordon as well. It was something he had wondered about as well. Even with the power of two rangers Avalon hadn't seemed to be able to tap into the source of it to enhance her power yet. If she was able to, then he could discern what made it that you could tap into that power. Maybe it was like a second wind. Tapping into his own water powers was significantly easy, but dealing with another ranger power, something that affected your physical being may be more difficult.

"Rangers, you were all chosen for a specific reason," Zordon said. "The power has been residing in you; it has chosen you long before you were ever rangers. You all have different virtues that the Power revealed to me and Alpha shortly before we had contacted you."

Alpha nodded to the rangers. He remembered it just like it had happened mere minutes before. It was hard to remember his first instance in the identities of the power rangers after the Power had revealed it to them.

_In the outskirts of the California desert, amongst the sandy dunes and the dusty winds stood a moselium-esque base. No one that had ever traversed through the cliffs and dunes had been able to find it. Those that had ventured near it had been turned away by an unseen force, a magnetic feeling that they shouldn't be there. No one was able to get inside. No one human anyway. There were many different planets and life forms out there that the humans didn't know about. It was some of those beings that created the base._

_The Command Center._

_What looked like an abandoned relic from the outside housed a morphological being and an animatronic robot that had joined forces to defeat the forces of evil. It was there that Zordon, the morphological being, a sage from Eltar, and Alpha 5, the animatronic robot from Edenoi, watched over the powers that would be what could defeat Rita Repulsa once and for all._

_"Zordon, look, the power coins are glowing!" Alpha stood over the display case that held the six golden coins, each housing the image of an extinct animal. Four of them held the image of dinosaurs; the tyrannosaurs rex, the triceratops, the pterodactyl, and the stegosaurus. The other two held images of a saber-tooth tiger and a mastodon. Each of the coins was glowing in its own respective color, red, blue, pink, orange, yellow, and black._

_As Alpha watched, the radiance continued to crescendo and reduce in timely intervals._

_"We must be getting closer to the return of Rita," Zordon said. He gazed at Alpha out of his power chamber before turning his gaze to the power coins as well. He pressed his lips in a thin line, silence filling the command center, the sounds of control panels and power generators filled the otherwise silence. "It's just as I feared, Alpha, she's getting closer to earth."_

_"Everything should be fine as long as her space dumpster isn't opened, Zordon," Alpha reminded him. He turned from the power coins to face his friend. "Do you really think that it'll happen?"_

_"We must be prepared in case it does come to that, Alpha," Zordon said. "The powers seem ready to choose their successors, please turn to the viewing globe. These are the ones that we may have to call to our aid if the time comes." Alpha turned and did as he was told. He looked into the viewing globe and watched as an image of a teenager in red, who was doing some bench presses, appeared on screen._

_"Teenagers Zordon?" Alpha cried. "Anything but that! They won't know what to do?"_

_"You mustn't underestimate them, Alpha," Zordon chided._

_"But can we really trust them to be able to use the powers?" Alpha's hands started to wave around. "Ay yi yi yi yi! What if they can't stand up to Rita's power? Then the powers that be will be gone forever!"_

_"Have faith Alpha, they can do it," Zordon said. The two turned their attention back to the viewing globe to the teenager in red. "Jason Scott is a born leader; he has the empathy, the drive, and the courage to lead the rangers in battle."_

_The viewing globe then focused on a teenager dressed in blue, dusting his glasses off on his shirt before leaning over a smoking beaker. "Billy Cranston; smart, intuitive, and holds lots of potential. He is a born strategist."_

_Now the viewing globe showed a teenage girl in yellow who was sitting, listening to her parents as they talked to her about something. "Trini Kwan; calm, rational, and dependable. She is fiercely loyal and will do what it takes to help her friends."_

_The image switched to one of a teenage boy dressed in black, sitting at the counter of a juice bar, grinning as he passed a milkshake back and forth between his hands. He accidentally knocked the drink over, but smile, shrugged, and grabbed a napkin to clean it up. "Zachary Taylor; fun loving, energetic, and a friend to all. He can be as serious as he is outgoing and knows when to exhibit both traits. A good part to the team."_

_His image morphed into one of a teenage girl decked out in pink, arms laden down with shopping bags. She looked to be on cloud nine as she headed into another store and started to look at dresses. "Kimberly Hart; compassionate, courteous, and determined, she won't let anyone put her down and has a strength that is yet to be seen."_

_The viewing globe then showed a teenage girl with dark hair, dark eyes, and wearing orange shorts along with a white tank top and a leather jacket. She said something to a younger girl that was by her side, smiled, and left an apartment. Meeting up with people outside, her smile dropped and the group started to walk down the street. "And finally, Avalon Mitchell. Ambitious, honest, and self confident, she will round out the team when the time is right."_

_Alpha let out a sound of surprise when it showed one of Avalon's friends breaking a car window. "Zordon! She can't be part of the-"_

_"Don't judge a book by its cover, Alpha," Zordon reminded her. "Seeing isn't always believing. Sometimes it takes a longer time for those to completely come to their potential." The viewing globe dimmed and the images faded away to nothing._

_"Ok, Zordon," Alpha said. "I trust you."_

_"Thank you, Alpha," Zordon said gratefully. "We're going to need to put our trust in everyone if Rita is going to be defeated once and for all."_

"You wouldn't be where you are today if it weren't for the powers revealing themselves to us, letting us know that you were all fit to be rangers," Zordon concluded. "So please, don't doubt yourselves." He paused for a moment. "My sensors indicate that Rita and Zedd have given up for the day, so I hope you all can relax and enjoy a moment's reprieve."

The rangers all looked at each other.

"Try and stop us," Zack said.


	28. Slipping Away

**Chapter 28**

_Slipping Away_

"Captain?"

Captain Mitchell turned away from his desk, quickly shoving his photograph back into his desk drawer. Clearing his throat, he turned around to face whoever had called his name, visibly relaxing when he saw it was Miss. Fairweather and Aaron Mason. He stood up; placing a hand on his chest, making sure his clothes were perfectly in place before nodding at the two of them.

"Mason, Miss. Fairweather," he said firmly. "What can I help you with?"

"We have reached a new break through with our project," Miss. Fairweather said in a low voice. Her eyes shifted over the partitions that led to the other cubicles. Aaron took a step closer to them, blocking off anyone from entering Captain Mitchell's office behind them. The risk of being overheard was greater than the risk of having their project found out. "It's something that we hope you'll approve. The weaponry has pretty much been finished, but I have some more blueprints that I need to work out before I can get approval to get started on them."

"Got it," Captain Mitchell said with another nod.

"And I have some more information on your daughters as well," Aaron continued. He paused and gave Captain Mitchell a sympathetic look. "Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anything about your son." Captain Mitchell turned away. "I'm sorry about what happened to Ryan, but with what happened with Diabolico—"

"Just give me the information that I need, Mason, thanks," Captain Mitchell interrupted sharply. He crossed his arms over his chest and thought for a long moment, resting his fingers against his forehead before bringing them down to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I still need to have a phone call and have a meeting set up, but I can get those done at another time." He held out an arm, motioning for the two to lead him out of his office.

Miss. Fairweather and Aaron turned on their heels and walked out of Captain Mitchell's office. He followed behind them, firmly closing his office door, and ambled down the twisting hallways the two turned down. He kept his hands behind his back, nodding at those that came his way. He had to keep up appearances as long as he could, though recently he felt nothing short of wanting to break down. All of his past demons were starting to come back to haunt him, all of his past decision that he thought were the best ones at the time were biting him in the ass. He figured it'd be years before that happened; he had done his best to keep the memories at bay. Now wherever he looked, due to the projects he was working on as well as the information he could get from connections…he wondered if any of the decisions he had ever made really were worth it.

What would have happened if he hadn't have met Ellie?

What would have happened if he hadn't had been in such a hurry to get home that day, causing the car crash? Ryan wouldn't have fallen into Diabolico's hands, the spirit he thought he had been sent away with all of the others.

That's what those at NASADA had told him. He had tracked everything he needed to know, having risen through the ranks of his specific department granted Captain Mitchell the ability to gain access to different factions of intelligence. No one was sure how Diabolico's spirit had managed to manifest itself, but what happened had happened and there was nothing they could do to change it.

No matter how much he wished things would have been able to change, it wasn't possible.

"Here you go." Aaron punched a couple of numbers into a keypad and waited for the lights along the side to turn green. Once it beeped and they could hear the tumbler locks opening, the three entered the room. Aaron walked over to the long table that rested on the far wall under a set of windows and picked up a metallic case. He unsnapped the locks and lifted the lid before turning it around to face Miss. Fairweather and Captain Mitchell. "This is what we've finished so far."

Captain Mitchell's eyebrows rose as he looked over the weaponry that rested in the box. It looked to be a blaster of some sort, though the internal wires and electronic technology that went along with it were spilling out the sides. Little bits of metallic plats were holding some wires together, probably to give the blaster a full circuit of power and electricity it needed to power the blaster.

"This is one of the weapons that I've recently finished," Miss. Fairweather said. She gave a proud smile, pushing her glasses up her nose. Reaching out, she lovingly rang her fingers over the side of the blaster. "The idea is that it emits a power beam of energy to blast a monster from, at most, fifty feet away." She turned back to Captain Mitchell, who stared hard at the blaster, listening intently. "It has the same sort of mechanisms that the power rangers' blasters currently have, though it's only a prototype."

"Is there any way that you can gauge the power of Diabolico or those of the other demons that are rumored to be around Mariner Bay?" Captain Mitchell questioned. He looked out the window at the mid afternoon sky. The sun was shining brightly, bringing a sense of happiness along with the rays of sunshine. Captain Mitchell pressed his lips together his mind wandering as it had been recently. _What will they say when they realize I've been in Mariner Bay this whole time? Being so close to Angel Grove…?_ Captain Mitchell gently shook his head before turning his attention back to the blaster. "If Rita was able to come back after thousands of years, who knows what havoc the demons can wreak if they ever reveal themselves once more."

"That was the idea of the blaster in general, Captain," Miss. Fairweather said.

"I've been looking over past records at NASADA," Aaron added, his hands behind his back as he faced Captain Mitchell. "With Rita, Zedd, and other monsters or demons that may have plagued the area before the current rangers have come to fruition. Our current rangers are the first human ones, but there have been others from different planets and galaxies. That's where I've been getting most of my information."

"Good." Captain Mitchell nodded. "Keep me updated when you further with your advancements, and Mason, please give me the contact of your contact." He reached out and closed the lid of the box. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a phone call to make."

* * *

 

Avalon waited until she was sure everyone in the Cranston household was asleep before climbing out of her bed. She reached over and pulled out a sweatshirt, slipping it over her head, and then crept over to the bedroom window. She turned to look over her shoulder, her eyes sweeping over the darkened room. The only source of light came from the moonlight peeing through the curtains; otherwise she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. Still, she crept over to the window and placed her hands on the glass.

Hearing a slight snoring sound, Avalon looked down at her sister, not daring to make a move in case she was detected. Bailey let out a slight yawn and twisted in the other direction, her legs tangled up in her blankets, her hair fanned around her head in knots and curls. Still, she reached up and unlocked the latch on the window and gently slid the pane open, inch by inch.

Once it was wide enough for her to duck her head out, she slowly pushed her way through the window and scooted down the edge of the roof, using her feet to keep herself from falling off at the last moment. Avalon's hands glided over the rough surface of the roof, the feeling itching her palms and fingers.

At the edge, Avalon slowly stood up, holding her arms out to her sides to balance herself. Once she was sure she had her balance, she reached out and grabbed onto the tree branch that was the closest to her. She firmly wrapped her fingers around it before pulling herself into the tree, rolling forward onto her stomach to rest her weight.

 _Oh god._ A branch poked Avalon in the gut and she lost her balance for a moment, dropping down so her arms were fully extended. She let out a sigh of relief before shuffling her way to the center of the tree where she grabbed onto the trunk and started to shimmy her way down to the ground. _I guess all of that practice breaking into houses really helped me out._

Avalon brushed her hair out of her face before starting to walk down the street. With her footsteps crunching over loose gravel in the street, she wandered around the neighborhood, soon finding herself in the middle of town. It was quieter than she had thought Angel Grove could be. There was always something going on, whether it being a sale at a store, some sort of picnic going on, a celebration for the power rangers maybe—the thought gave her a smarmy smile—but there was always something to do. Finding the streets to be a bit deserted, when everyone was meant to be home asleep was calming. She hadn't had a moment to rest since she had gotten to Angel Grove three years before. She was always on the run to do something Chase told her to do, totting Bailey around somewhere, or running away to keep from getting caught.

She closed her eyes, thinking about the times she had broken into Kimberly's house and had rummaged around, whether she was there or not. If she had known it was hers before…it probably wouldn't have made a different. Avalon wasn't friends with them then and she was still skeptical about what it was to be a power ranger. Would she have been turned in and sent to jail? Maybe. Was there still a possibility that she could be sent to jail? Maybe. But at least she had friends to support her this time.

It was strange. She wasn't used to having friends. Back in Australia, before she had been sent away, she had a lot of friends and was over at people's houses all the time for sleepovers and parties and just hanging out. As soon as she and Bailey got to Angel Grove they were all alone, literally and figuratively. They didn't have the same sort of opportunities that others their age had. Having been brought into the Vipers, at the time, was like a god send. She had people she could hang out with all day, she had money that was at her disposal, and she had a sense of camaraderie that she couldn't find anywhere else. Of course it all came at a price, she had to take up most of her time away from Bailey and use it on the gang.

She had to prove that she was loyal to them, prove that she was tough enough to follow every order Chase gave her. Every small assignment, every large assignment, she would do whatever he had asked. She needed to make sure he didn't doubt what she had to offer and while he said he thought she was perfect for the Vipers, there was still a large part of her that knew it wasn't true. Not even when she had gone to get the tattoo of the Vipers' symbol did he still trust her.

He had been there, holding her hand as she went through it. He was the one that had gone to their apartment and gotten her, taking her to the tattoo shop. It was on a seedy part of town, one where she knew people in their right minds wouldn't go. The streets had been dark and filled with trash. Those that stood on the street corners backed out of Chase's way as the two went by, showing him the utmost respect. Chase stayed silent the whole walk, his hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket. Finally, he turned and opened the door of a tattoo shop.

Avalon walked in behind him. It was about as run down as she would have expected it to be. Those that went there had to have a lot of gang connections as well as having a rough life in general. Avalon had looked over at Chase and sized him up then and there. He wasn't that much older than her, probably nearing his early twenties, sort of young to run a gang, but old enough to run a clique, a faction of the gang. A tiny part that he was unequivocally the ruler of.

Chase walked over to the tattoo artist and talked to him for a few moments before turning back to Avalon and motioning her over. He stood back, watching as Avalon sat down in the chair and held her arm out to get prepped for the tattoo. She realized that Chase must have gone to the specific artist a lot if he already had a stencil out and was pressing it to Avalon's wrist. She looked over the design, surprised to find herself entranced by the design of the 'V' that was printed on her arm.

The way the lines swirled and twisted and turned, blending into each other before the larger, thicker lines created the letter 'V'. She felt a surge of pride in that moment, glancing over at Chase. He continued to stare down at the artist as he put the pieces of his tattoo gun together. She had proven that she was ready for the responsibility of the gang, that she was able to give a better life for her and Bailey. The tattoo gun started up, buzzing loudly and Avalon's eyes immediately moved back over to the artist as he lowered the needle to her skin.

"We're going to do a test line and then we'll get started," the artist said. Avalon nodded and instinctively tensed up as the needle moved closer to her wrist. The artist paused, waiting for her to relax before he drew the needle against her skin. It stung a little, not so much than the pain she would end of feeling better, but enough that she was aware of it. "Good, now about a million more lines to go."

"Good."

Chase stepped forward and grabbed onto Avalon's left hand. The gesture startled her and for a moment, Avalon could see the real person that was underneath Chase's cold, hard demeanor. Sometimes she forgot that he had been a different person before he had joined the Vipers and started to run his portion of it himself. He rarely ever talked about his life when he was growing up, she had only heard about his brother and his parents a few times and he always appeared to be fond of them. However, it wasn't long until he was back to his slightly psychotic self, barking orders and doing whatever it took to make sure they were doing what they had to do to survive.

There were rumors that the Vipers were even on par with other gangs, getting to the point where they would kidnap people, mostly rival gang members, and do whatever they could to make sure they would get the money, weapons, and ammunition they needed to continue their group. If there was anyone that was a mystery to her, it was Chase. He was her mentor, in a way, but there was still a lot about him she didn't know.

Skye and Summer she couldn't get to shut up more often than not. They talked about their life before the gang as freely as anyone would talk about the weather. Chase had continued to remind them that the more they kept secret, the better off they'd be. That was how she started to live, keeping as much to herself as she could, keeping people away from her, making sure no one would get into her life.

Avalon jumped, feeling a twinge of the needle burn over her hand, a bit harder than she had anticipated. Chase tightened his grip on Avalon's hand, though he didn't say anything, he kept his eyes on the tattoo artist and the design that was slowly being created before their eyes. For the two hours, Avalon sat there as she got the tattoo done and felt an immense wave of satisfaction roll over her when she was done. She turned to Chase, silently waiting for his approval, and he smiled and nodded at her.

That was all she needed. She was in and the rest of her time with the gang she hadn't been questioned and had been brought through the ranks pretty quickly. There were a lot of things that she immediately regretted doing, others that she still didn't feel a shred of doubt. Now that she was seeing things clearer, she wondered if there was a good way to get out of everything.

Avalon sighed and slowed down a little, turning on her heel and walking back the way she came. Glancing at her watch, she was surprised to find that she had been out walking for an hour. She had been so stuck in her thoughts she hadn't realized how long she had been away from the house. The past always got you like that. Getting stuck in so many memories could hinder you from the future.

 _Maybe that's the point though,_ Avalon thought. _Maybe I don't have much of a future. Chase'll do all he can to make sure I don't get out._ She kicked at a rock and continued walking, shaking her head in frustration. _Don't think like that, Av. Your friends'll help you as long as they can, as much as they can. And you'll do the same for them._

It was then that she was aware of footsteps following along behind her. They were light, almost as if the person was trying to be undetectable. "Fuck," she muttered under her breath, continuing on. Her fingers twitched at her sides before moving to the waist band of her jeans. She closed her eyes and cursed herself again when she realized she had left her pistol back at the Cranstons' house. She made sure to keep it hidden while trying to figure out what to do with it. The risk of danger was too great to be unarmed.

And now here she was, unarmed, and walking the streets alone.

How stupid could she get?

She started walking faster now. The leaves on the bushes around her eerily moved with the night breeze, and though their inviting shade may have been better during the day, it only added to the darkness that was starting to creep around her. She checked over her shoulder, but saw nothing. Avalon's heart slowly started to inch towards her throat as she continued. She turned the corner, going down another street, heading back towards the neighborhood and everything all came up on her at once.

She immediately recognized Skye standing in the window of a shop, holding up a gun, posing with it in front of a cashiers face. "Stupid bitch! Just hand it over! I promise you won't get hurt!"

Avalon was frozen, listening to the words come out of his mouth. She had heard it a thousand times, many times those words even coming from her. It was strange now, she had a sense of disconnect with the situation. She wasn't _in_ the situation, she realized. It wasn't her that was there to help him out, but she could clearly see Summer's form hiding around the side of an aisle, and a couple other Viper members at the back of the store, holding off some late night customers.

So where was Chase?

"Hand it over!"

The cashier opened the register and took out the money that was inside. With shaky hands, she handed it over to Skye. He shoved the money into his pockets then gestured towards her with the gun once more. "And your purse! C'mon! I know you have it back there!" Now her whole body was trembling, nonetheless, the cashier reached under the counter and pulled out her purse. Skye grabbed it, nearly yanking her hand off in the process. "Stay there!"

The cashier nodded.

Summer moved forward and grabbed onto the purse that Skye held out. Their accomplices moved up the side aisles, continuing to train knives on other patrons. Avalon found herself rooted to the spot, watching. Her fingers twitched. Why wasn't she doing anything? Why wasn't she morphing and fighting them off? The answer slammed into her brain seconds later.

She was still torn between the two, figuring where her loyalties really lied. The thought alone made her sick. It was clear, she had been brainwashed to make sure she stayed as long as she could; the fear of having anyone else get hurt because of her was really starting to hammer home. Her bad decisions were now staring her in the face and it was all her fault.

"Where's the money?" Summer spat, throwing the purse back at the cashier.

"I-I haven't b-been to the b-bank," the cashier said. "But you can have the earrings! They're gold! Real gold!" She quickly removed the earrings from her ears, placing them on the counter, before raising her hands once more. Skye glared at her, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

"You have three seconds to give us everything or I'll get them myself!" He snarled and started to count. "Three…" The cashier started to remove her necklaces and bracelet. "Two…" her fingers fumbled. "One…" there was a whimper.

Avalon jumped and before she knew it, she had turned and fled. She didn't have to stay to know what happened. The sound had been enough, coupled with the gasps of fear from the other shoppers. Avalon's feet pounded against the sidewalk, each slap of her sneakers against the ground propelling her forward as she quickly as she could go. Her thoughts were a mess; she couldn't get a grasp on her powers to use her speed to get back to the house faster. Her breathing was labored, on the verge of transitioning into sobs. Blindly, Avalon continued to run until she found the neighborhood and clambered over to the tree to get inside.

She scaled up the tree as quickly as she could and practically fell to the floor after propelling herself through the window. At the last second, she caught herself before falling to the ground, alerting the others in the house. She shuffled backwards, resting her back against the wall under the window, trying to catch her breath.

 _He saw me,_ she thought. Her first intelligent thought in moments. _That's why he wasn't inside. He was outside the store. He saw me._ Hopefully he was just leaving her alone for a while after her stint in the hospital. It would have been the smart thing to do.

Something nudged her hand and Avalon looked down to see Steggy nuzzling her head against her hand. Avalon smiled and reached out, gently running her fingers over her back before picking her up. She gently placed her zord on her shoulder before standing up. She looked over at Bailey, watching her for a few moments as she slept.

Avalon walked over to her and gently lifted the covers up to her shoulders, tucking her in. She then moved back to her bed, pulling off her sweatshirt, and climbed into her own bed, curling up into a ball, curling her hands into fists and rested them by her face.

Just in case.

The sooner she was able to get out, the better off she'd be.

But for the moment, she just needed to buy herself some time and slowly break away.


	29. Stay With Me

**Chapter 29**

_Stay With Me_

"Now I know how Bailey feels," Avalon murmured, resting her chin on top of her crossed her arms. She slowly moved her eyes around the cafeteria. "It seems like everyone's watching me." Though she didn't see any eyes directly coming her way, or even staring at her in general, she couldn't help the feeling that her skin was crawling and she wanted to jump out of it as soon as possible. She sat up straight and looked around at the rangers, kicking her feet back and forth, lightly scuffing the tip of her boot against the floor. "They should all know what's happened by now."

"Well, considering you're only eighteen they have to wait until you're twenty-one to specifically mention your name in the paper," Trini said, trying to reassure her. The yellow ranger gave her a tiny smile before exchanging a glance with Billy. Avalon's eyes narrowed for, they had been doing that a lot lately, and it was starting to bug her. "Otherwise, to be honest, it's not hard for anyone to connect that dots that they'd be talking about your and Bailey."

"But everyone is so nice here, Av, no one's going to say anything to your face and we all just want you to be able to make sure that you and Bailey can make it through this difficult time," Kimberly said gently. She placed her hand on Avalon's shoulder and gently squeezed it. Around her, Billy, Zack, Tommy, and Jason all nodded in agreement. "After we go to the police station after school we can go shopping or something. I mean, prom isn't that far away and we're going to need dresses if we want to beat the rush."

"It's so like you, Kim, that you'd try to comfort a friend and then turn the conversation back to your shopping needs," Zack teased her. Kimberly stuck her tongue out at him. "She's right though, it's probably better if you keep your mind off everything until it all blows over."

"Or all blows up," Avalon grumbled.

"Have you always been a pessimist?" Jason asked, lowering a carton of milk from his mouth. His eyebrows furrowed together as he studied the orange ranger. Sure things looked a little bleak at the moment, but they were all trying their hardest to cheer up their friends, though nothing seemed to be working. "You really need to look on the bright side of things. Now you and Bailey have the chance for things to get even better for you. If you just focus on little things day after day you'll get through it." He nudged Tommy on the arm, who nodded. "And we're all going to be here to help you."

Kimberly, Trini, Zack, and Billy and made sounds of agreement, nodding as well.

Avalon gave a half smile, as she sat up, starting to drum her fingers on the table in front of her. They were right. She really did need to stop dwelling over everything that had gone wrong before and just focus on getting her life better and being there for her sister and her friends. The fact that she needed to go to the police station to answer some questions, probably reveal her work within the Vipers, and get some sort of protection and things wouldn't be that bad. It would be the first step to getting things to go her way for once.

"Thanks guys," she said finally. "You all are legends." She looked down at the empty space in front of her before sitting up straight, looking over her shoulder at the line in the cafeteria. "Now that we got that out of the way, I'm starving." She got up from the table to laughter from her friends and walked over to the lunch line, sliding in right behind Bulk and Skull, who were shoving people out of their way to get to the front of the line. Avalon laughed. "I see that you guys haven't given up your day jobs," She remarked.

"Everybody here should know that Bulky should get first dibs on all the good stuff," Skull said, slapping Bulk on the shoulder for emphasis. "It's been like that since forever and these kids need to remember that!"

"That's right," Bulk agreed. He picked up a couple of hamburgers and placed them onto his plate. Skull leaned over and frowned when he saw that Bulk had taken all of the hamburgers. He elbowed Bulk in the side, who had shoved one in him mouth and was vigorously chewing. Bulk turned and looked at him, shrugging before taking another bite of the burger in his fist. "Everything around here belongs to us."

"Does that include everyone that's in it?" Avalon questioned, raising an eyebrow. As she continued to speak, she leaned over and discreetly took a hamburger from Bulk's tray and placed it on Skulls. He made a nose of happiness and picked it up, taking a bite. "Because it would make a lot of sense as to why you've staked a claim on Kimberly."

"Up until that Tommy guy got here anyway," Skull mumbled around his mouthful of food. Little bits of mushed up burger flew out of his mouth and onto his tray below.

"As charming as ever, Skull," Avalon said, patting him on the shoulder. Skull beamed at her, obviously pleased. As she did so, she reached her other arm around and grabbed onto another hamburger, taking it for her own. Once she had it, she picked up her tray and moved it around Bulk and Skull to get to the fries and peas that were being offered as well. "I haven't seen you guys around lately," she said. "If you're not in class, I don't see you at all. Not even in the lunch line."

"We've been out every day trying to figure out the identity of the power rangers!" Bulk replied with so much gusto it caused Avalon's mouth to drop open in surprise. She was even sure she drooled a little before managing to close her mouth and turn away from them. Her eyes shifted back and forth. Looking for the power rangers? How successful had they been? Were they ever around whenever she didn't know and had seen them morph? Avalon scowled hearing Bailey's voice in her head reminding her to be careful about her powers.

That know it all.

"That's right!" Bulk took her silence for admiration. "The power rangers! We figured, if we could find a way to reveal their identities, we'll be famous, world renowned, and get all of the attention that we could ever imagine!" Bulk threw out his arms, catching Skull in the side of the head.

The resulting chaos caused Bulk and Skull to somehow bend the metal contraption that the trays slid on, breaking the side of the food trays, sending food and condiments flying everywhere, onto nearby students, but mostly on Bulk and Skull, who were collapsed on the ground, staring up at the ceiling in shock s food dribbled down the sides of their faces and the fronts of their clothes. Avalon laughed loudly, clutching the sides of her tray to make sure she didn't drop her food, backing away from the food. The rest of the cafeteria laughed at the two tried to pull themselves to their feet, wiping ketchup and mustard off their faces.

Skull went as far as to pick up his hamburger and wipe it in the ketchup across Bulk's face, sopping up the excess mess before taking a large bite of his burger. He moved to do the same and Bulk grabbed his face, pushing him away.

"You know you're going to have to pay for that," The lunch lady said, leaning over the side of the food line, glaring down at Bulk and Skull. Bulk glared back at her, shaking her head.

"I can start with paying for my food," Avalon said, tossing a five dollar bill onto the table. She gently placed her tray down on a nearby table before walking over and grabbing Bulk's and Skull's arms, pulling them to their feet. "You guys may want to hose down before you go anywhere. Don't want any seagulls following ya, yeah?"

"At this point we're used to them," Skull said, taking another bite. He rubbed the hamburger on a mustard patch on his sleeve and did his famous laugh. "They even have names! Henry is the one with the blue talons!"

Avalon laughed and crossed he arms over her chest. "You guys are a trip," she said. She turned and picked up her tray, walking back over to the rangers. They were laughing just as hard as she was, still looking over at Bulk and Skull as they made their way out of the cafeteria to get cleaned up. "Have those two always been like that?"

"As long as we can remember," Kimberly said. She rolled her eyes. "They've always been tripping over things, breaking things, spilling food, being bullies."

"They don't seem to be much of bullies now," Avalon remarked. She placed her tray on the table and sat down, straddling the bench. She looked around and lowered her voice. "Considering the fact that they're trying to find the identity of the power rangers." She regarded the varying degrees of shock and concern on the other rangers' faces. "Now that I think about it, I remember them saying it sometime before, but we weren't really friends then so—"

"Don't worry about it," Billy said with a wave of his hand. "The likelihood that they'd be able to disclose our identities as the ranger has a probability that's so low there's no prospect of them being successful."

"Or as we say in Oz, and in a lot shorter form, there's Buckley's chance," Avalon said simply. She smiled as the rangers all laughed and continued to eat lunch. They changed the subject to prom, more like Kimberly and Trini high-jacked the conversation to talk about prom, and what they were going to do that night, who long they were going to stay out, what they would have for breakfast after after prom the next day, and who's house they were going to stay at to get some sleep. They were all surprised when Avalon asked as many questions as possible, having not heard of a prom or ever been to one before.

It was then that the boys decided to leave the table. "We'll see you girls later, we have some stuff that we have to do," Zack said, picking up his tray. Trini leaned back and looked up at him, noticing the frown on the lack ranger's face.

"You don't seem so happy," She remarked gently.

Tommy reached out and shook Zack's shoulder, trying to get him to smile. "We're all going to sign up for the football team. Since his dad is so adamant about him joining, we figured that we would all go together and offer him some support."

Kimberly held up a finger, pressing it to the side of her face. "Uh, weren't you guys, like, already on the team?" She asked. "Last year or so."

"All of you?" Avalon's eyebrows rose. She laughed a little, shaking her head. "Wow, the team must have been really desperate if they wanted to—Ow!" Kimberly elbowed Avalon in the side and Avalon turned and glared at her. Kimberly glared back, making a motion for her to close her mouth. "What? What'd I say?"

"You really need to think before you speak, sweetie," Kimberly said, patting her on the cheek before picking up the orange ranger's hamburger and placing it into her mouth. Avalon glared, bringing her hands up to pull her hamburger from her mouth, making a show of taking large, vicious bites. "Good luck guys, we'll be rooting for all of you."

"Thanks," Zack said. He managed a small smile, despite the fact that he still didn't really want to be on the football team. Avalon could see it in his face; he was trying his hardest to stay on his father's good side, though he was also doing his best to look on the bright side of things. "But think of it this way, all of that dancing I've been doing will make for having quick feet on the football field."

"We can come watch you tryout if you want," Trini offered. "Give you some quick support."

"That may be a good idea," Billy agreed. "It's been scientifically proven that the positive reinforcement with sports has been linked to the increased abilities that athletes have the capability of." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm surprised that _I'm_ even deciding to try out again." He smiled modestly. "I got on the team, but…admittedly I never got a lot of time to play, so I figured I'd try to see how I would fare now. Especially considering the new practices that Trini's Uncle Howard managed to bestow upon me."

"I think you're going to do great, Smurf," Avalon reassured him with a shrug. "If you can get over your fear of water, you can do anything you put your mind to."

"Yeah! You're going to do great, Billy, I know it!" Kimberly bounced in her seat with excitement. "So I think we should get seats a few rows up the bleachers, that way it won't look like we're there only to see you."

"That way the pressure won't be so strong," Trini agreed. "But we'll still be there to support you all."

"Thanks girls, but I think we'll all do better without the pressure of you all watching," Jason said with a warm smile. "That way when Tommy messes up he won't have any witnesses." The white ranger gave a sarcastic laugh, shoving Jason on the shoulder. "We'll see you girls later." The boys all waved and left the cafeteria.

"So, prom!" Kimberly declared, lacing her fingers together.

"Should have known you'd try to turn the conversation back to you," Avalon teased. "I'm sure if there was a conversation that didn't have your name in it, your head would explode, Pinkerbell." She gave an over the top smile and rapidly raised and lowered her eyebrows, as if to say _I win._ Kimberly gave her a slow smile before turning back to Trini.

"Anyway, I was thinking that we should go out and get our dresses this weekend, that way we'll have time to get them altered if we need to and if things don't work out for the dresses we find, then we can take them back and find some new ones before all of the other girls swoop in and start to find stuff." Her eyes lit up. "My mom can come! She can always tell whenever a dress is right for me." She waved a hand. "Saves me a lot of time of indecision."

"My Mom can come too," Trini added. She tucked her hair behind her ear, resting her cheek in her hand. "It'll be the perfect time to spend together." She sat up straight and glanced over at Kimberly, the two exchanging a worried glance before turning to Avalon. "Maybe Mrs. Cranston would like to come along as well," She suggested. "It'd be a great bonding experience for all of us."

Whether she expected Avalon to turn it down, say something sarcastic, or imply something somewhat insulting to her, Trini didn't show it as Avalon thought for a long moment, alternatively tapping her fingers against her chin. Finally, she stood up and brought both legs underneath the table and shrugged. "Sounds bonzer, actually," she said. "It just depends on whether or not she can get some time off from the university." She brought her hair over her shoulder. "It's the least I can do to try and thank her for bringing us in."

"How _are_ things over there?" Trini leaned towards her. She could feel a strange sense of anxiety come from Avalon's aura. Not the kind that she had felt around her before, when she was at the hospital. This time it was different, as if she wanted to jump out of her skin and run away as soon as possible, like she had wanted to do before. "It can't be that easy…suddenly being thrust into a new life and everything…"

"How do you think I felt with becoming a power ranger?" Avalon reminded him. "Having to suddenly be thrust with all of that responsibility while being in a gang at the same time?" She shook her head. "Sometimes I just wanted to shoot myself in the head and get it over with."

"Don't speak like that," Kimberly warned. "What would we do without you?" She started to count off on her fingers. "Things would be a lot more entertaining, we wouldn't have to worry about your bad wardrobe, I could come to school and not worry about being insulted…" Kimberly laughed as Avalon made a face, pouting. Kimberly leaned over and put her arm around Avalon's shoulders. Something she wouldn't have been able to do, ages before. "I'm kidding Av, I love having you around. I mean, if I thought we would have been friends when I first met you…especially with that tacky leather jacket you continued to wear, I wouldn't have believed it."

Avalon continued to pout towards her. It wasn't that she didn't believe what Kimberly was saying to her, she really did believe it, deep, deep down she did. In fact, it was Kimberly who had convinced her that they were really friends in the first place. When she was back in the hospital, telling her friends everything she and Bailey had been through and had revealed to Kimberly that she was the one that had broken into her house and stolen her pearl necklace. The fact that Kimberly hadn't been mad at her and continued to want to be around her showed her that they really were her friends and was going to do whatever they could to help her. It was only fair that she returned the favor whether in battle or anything else they ever needed.

Besides, just because she was working to get her way out of the gang didn't mean that she couldn't still use her connections to help them out. That wasn't so bad was it?

"But you've proven that you're a great friend to have and an even greater part of the team," Kimberly continued. "And we couldn't be happier about it." Trini nodded.

Avalon finally dropped her pout, gently shaking her head. "If you're done with the sappiness, we need to get to class." Still, she managed a smile as she picked up her tray and walked to the tray return.

And unlike some of her more recent smiles, this one stuck around for the rest of the day.

* * *

 

Bailey teleported to the command center, dropping her backpack to the floor. "Geez, I know Fred can talk a lot, but I don't think he took a break for five minutes," She murmured. "It's a stupid middle school science fair; I don't think it needs to have this much work done with it." She turned the corner of the Command Center and spotted Alpha. "Hey Alpha, I didn't see you there."

"Bailey, it's nice to see you," Alpha said, spreading out his arms. Bailey smiled and hooked her arm through his. "Billy's not here so I believe we're going to have to hold off on the progress we were making on the Megazord's sword."

"Excuse me, but I think I have the capability to work on it myself," Bailey said, thumping herself on the chest. "I've been around the Command Center long enough for you all to trust my abilities and I can't thank you enough for that." She reached over and patted Alpha on the top of the head. Alpha bashfully bobbed his head back and forth.

"Of course you do, Bailey," Alpha said warmly. "You're a great asset to the team, just as good as Avalon." He cleared his throat. "Now, I believe that you were talking to yourself on the way in here, about Fred?" Bailey gave him an indignant look. "I didn't know it was customary for humans to talk about other humans like this so much."

"Clearly you haven't been around Tommy and Kim a lot," Bailey joked. She reached up and scratched her forehead. "No worries. We were just working on our science fair project." She closed an eye. "In fact, I may need to borrow some stuff from the command center for it. Otherwise, he's been really…insistent about it and it's driving me crazy. All he wants to do is work on the project."

"Well, Bailey, I don't know much about humans or teenagers and the way they act with each other," Alpha said as they walked into the main area of the Command Center. The doors opened to reveal Zordon floating in his tube. "But have you thought that the reason that Fred is talking about the science fair so much is to keep your mind off of the things that's been going around your school and the city of Angel Grove?"

Bailey thought about it for a long moment. In a way, it made sense. Fred had met her at school every day she had arrived and would tell her a joke or a story each time they would head out to their lockers. While in the classes they had together and at lunch he would sit with her and every time they had study hall they worked on their plans for their project, even getting most of the technical aspects of it constructed and out of the way. Now that she thought about it, he was doing a really good job with keeping her mind off of the students that were whispering around her. She knew they were, she could see the glances and couldn't help but notice whenever someone stopped talking when she got closer.

It was already hard being the new kid, but being the new kid and being dragged into one of Angel Grove's biggest scandals was even harder. The fact that Fred was doing his best to distract her was sweet.

"Yeah, maybe," Bailey finally said. "Who knows? Anyway, I'm going to get started working on the Power Sword, to see if anything's happened with it now that Trini has gotten her powers." She dropped her backpack to the floor and waved to Zordon before walking into the back room.

"I'm sure you're going to do progress well, Bailey," Zordon said to her with a fond smile.

"Thanks, Zordon," Bailey called over her shoulder. She picked up a few reading devices before pulling on some gloves, taking the Power Cube and the Ankylosaurus Power Morpher along with her. She took them all out to the main area of the Command Center and placed them on the empty space of a counter. She then walked into another room and looked for the blueprints of the Thunder Mega Zord, in particularly the weaponry. She walked back out of the room and placed the blueprints on the counter as well.

Picking up a reading device she waved it over the Power Cube. While waiting to get the results, she glanced at the Ankylosaurus Power Morpher. The coin flashed as she continued to watch it. Bailey chewed her bottom lip, thinking about what Alpha and Zordon had said when Trini got her powers to control electricity. What was it that really made someone become a power ranger? They said there was something already in them, but was that really true or was it possible to learn how to get those attributes.

"Zordon?" Bailey turned back to the rangers' mentor. "Did you think Av would be a good ranger from the beginning?" Zordon turned to look at her curiously. "You said that the power has been residing in them. But at the beginning, it didn't seem like Av would be a good choice considering…the decisions she's made."

"Yes, well, that was a topic of debate from the very beginning," Zordon said. "Admittedly, Alpha didn't have a whole lot of trust in her, knowing that she wasn't as pure and kind hearted as the others.

"Really?" Bailey glanced at the animatronic robot. He shrugged sheepishly.

"I'm afraid so, Bailey," Alpha said, walking over to her. "I was skeptical about her abilities, but she has proven me wrong. I'm glad she did." She nodded.

"You seem to have a lot of questions about the rangers' start young one," Zordon continued. He paused for a moment. "The curiosity in you is refreshing and something that will take you far in life." Bailey beamed. "Take a look at the viewing globe and you'll see how the rangers have started out."

Bailey did as she was told, continued to alternative glance at the reading device that was in her hands. It was taking a while to give her information she needed to know. However, once and image of her sister appeared on screen of the viewing globe, she was transfixed. She recognized it as one of the few times they had completely run out of food in their apartment and was running low on money in general. One of the few times where she started to get worried, though Avalon did a good job of keeping her in the dark of their troubles.

"Bailey!" Avalon on the viewing globe called as she walked through the apartment, taking in the empty cupboards. With a loud sigh, she walked over to the pantry and looked inside as well. Nothing. Not even a little crumb. Avalon placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head back towards the ceiling, worry evident in her face. "No worries, Av, you've dealt with this before," she murmured, accent thick in her ears. Turning on her heel, she walked over to the counter and started to flip through the envelopes.

Bills. Bills. And more bills.

The rent was due too.

"Bailey!" Avalon called again.

Pushing her long, dark hair behind her shoulders she turned towards the entrance to the kitchen, listening as footsteps headed her way. Her dark brown eyes surveyed the colorless apartment. It was fit for four, but only two lived there. The walls were pretty bare apart from a few pictures that had been set up of their family. Though it resembled an apartment that was set up for a tour, it was spotless; the only thing that showed that anyone lived there.

"What's up, Av?" Bailey appeared around the corner. She pushed her glasses up her nose and looked at her sister impatiently. "I'm working on a science project."

Avalon's eyes narrowed as she gazed at her sister. "It's not another spore is it?"

"No worries, Av." Bailey waved a hand. "It won't be anything that could potentially poison or harm anyone else." Her eyes shifted. "I made sure of that this time." Avalon rolled her eyes. "What'd you call me for?"

"We don't have any food," Avalon explained, lowering her voice in seriousness. Bailey's eyes turned downcast and she lightly kicked at the ground. Avalon reached over to the leather jacket that was sitting on the back of a chair. "So I'm going to go out and-"

"I know where you're going!" Bailey snapped. Avalon lifted an eyebrow at her sister's attitude, but allowed her to continue. "Av, you're such a boofhead. These guys…they're not good for you to be hanging out with. You keep getting in trouble and-"

"-And we get food on the table, the bills paid, and we can live comfortably," Avalon reminded her. "Don't be such a yobbo. I know what I'm doing." Avalon reached out a hand and mussed her sister's hair. "Everything'll be ok, Bay, I promise." She reached out her pinkie finger and Bailey gave a small smile, hooking hers around her sister's. "Keep the door locked and don't answer if anyone comes by. I'll knock twice before using my key so you know that it's me at the door when I get back."

"Ok." Bailey nodded glumly. "See you, Av."

"Stay out of trouble," Avalon called as she walked to the front door.

"I should be telling _you_ that," Bailey shot back, sticking her tongue out at her sister. Avalon stuck her tongue out over her shoulder before slipping out the front door. Avalon walked down a flight of stairs and went through the lobby of the apartment building. Once she walked out the front door of the apartment complex, she walked down the street and over to a group of teenagers waiting for her.

"Finally you got here, Pinkie," Chase said. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his own leather jacket, his eyes moving over the rest of the group that was with him. With his movement, the bottom of his shirt lifted, revealing the hilt of a switch blade. "Is everyone ready?"

Avalon and the others nodded.

"Let's go."

The viewing globe then switched to show Kimberly and Trini sitting in Kimberly's room. Bailey smiled, seeing how young they looked. The fights and constant worries over Rita and Zedd had clearly aged them a bit over the couple of years they had been fighting, she could see it now. How hard was it to try and keep everything a secret? Bailey only worked from the sidelines, watching them and helping them with their weapons when they needed to, but she didn't have the brut of all of that responsibility on her shoulders.

She felt bad for them. More so than she had before. They were giving up their lives as teenagers to do something humans had never done before. Bailey smile to herself, continuing to watch on the viewing globe.

"Kim, c'mon we've got to get going!" Trini called, looking at her watch. She rested her chin in her hand, looking towards the door to a very pink bedroom. "We're meeting the guys, remember?"

"Like, I'll be out in a minute, Trini," Kimberly called back. Trini could hear the sound of make-up bottles being pushed around, caps being opened, and water running. "I just need to make sure that I got my make-up right for the rad party this weekend." A second later the door opened and Kimberly stepped out, the light pink dress she was holding against her body brushed her legs and her short brown hair swinging around her shoulders. She turned to her best friend with a smile before placing her hands by her face. "Now, which side do you like better?"

Kimberly turned this way and that as Trini studied her face. The left half of her face was more muted, going more with the natural look. A light swipe of blush was on her cheeks, along with the light pink eye shadow, tiny bit of mascara, and light colored lip gloss. The right side of her face was darker, with a look that was more for the nightlife, with dark pink, almost red eye shadow, a line of eye liner, and dark lipstick.

Trini smiled as she shook her head back and forth. "You look great either way, Kim," she reminded her.

"Thanks Trin." Kimberly beamed. She turned to the mirror that was resting over her desk and puckered her lips as she studied her reflection. She ran her fingers through her hair for a moment before shrugging and standing up. With a light giggle, she turned back to Trini. "Both look great, I might use both outfits and change in the middle of the night."

"Kim!" Trini grinned as she stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. She reached a hand down and scratched her bare stomach before looking at her watch again.

Kimberly noticed her movement. "I know, I know." She held up her hands before backing up to the bathroom. "Don't have a freak attack. I'll just wash this off and we can get going." Kimberly turned on her heel and flounced off into the bathroom.

Trini decided to use the spare time to practice her Mantis-style kung-fu. It was proving to be more difficult than she originally anticipated. But she was coming along with it well. She loved the way her body moved in the slow movements as she concentrated on her breathing and perfecting the moves. Everything was connected in that style of kung-fu; her body, her breath, the earth, the energies around her.

"Ok, I'm ready!" Kimberly walked back into the room and leaned against the doorway, and patiently watched as Trini finished up her routine. The slowness was a way to perfect the moves and even though there were times that she didn't do things perfectly, the practice always paid off. "You're starting to get really good, Trini," she congratulated her friend.

"Thanks." Trini smiled warmly as she lowered her arms. "It's a lot of hard work, but I'm really enjoying it." She put her arm around Kimberly's shoulder and the two left the latter's bedroom. Kimberly called goodbye to her mother before the two left the house.

As they walked to meet up with their friends, their conversations ranged from anything to everything. From the party that Kimberly was going to that weekend, to the family gathering that Trini was going to the next weekend. From homework to school projects. From clubs to organizations the two were a part of. From friends to boys. Though their personalities were different, Trini being more conscious about the earth as well as loyalty and Kimberly being more conscious of being social and shopping, there was no doubt that the two of them really were best friends. As they turned and walked into a nearby neighborhood, down the street, the caught a glimpse of a teenager in red and a teenager in black sparring in a driveway.

Kimberly nudged Trini's arm and pointed. Trini followed her gaze and her smile widened. Jason and Zack were always up to something energetic, whether it was playing a sport, sparing, dancing, or working out; the two never seemed to sit still.

"So who do you think is going to win this time?" Kimberly gracefully leapt up onto a bench they were passing by and held her arms out, expertly balancing, utilizing her gymnastics trained muscles to keep herself upright. When she reached the end of the make-shift balance beam, she lifted her arms and did a perfect flip forward, landing on her feet. She threw her arms up into the air, completing the move.

"Nice job, Kimberly!" Trini grinned and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "That was really good."

"Thanks, Trini." Kimberly replied.

The two girls approached their friends as they continued to circle around each other. Jason held his hands up in the perfect tae-kwon-do style as Zack was bouncing around a lot more, practicing what he called hip hop kido. The two girls watched as Jason and Zack threw punches and kicks, acting and reacting to each other's movements. In the end, Jason managed to grab Zack's arm out of the arm and gently put his fist into Zack's side, signaling the end of the fight. Though Zack lost, the smile didn't drop from his face as the two clasped hands and came together to high-five.

"Great job this time, Zack," Jason said with a light laugh. "Good recovery, too. You're really getting the hang of this."

"What can I say, I have a good teacher," Zack replied.

"Careful," Kimberly called, teasingly. She placed her hand on her hips as she smiled at her two guy friends. "You don't want to make his head bigger than it already is." Her smile widened as Jason rolled his eyes. He wasn't offended by it, the two traded jokes like that all the time.

All of a sudden, Kimberly and Trini felt something land on their shoulders and they turned around to see Bulk and Skull, the resident bullies standing behind them. Kimberly's upper lip curled and she turned her head to face Trini, who looked just as disgusted as she did. Trini faced forward and looked at Jason and Zack, who appeared to be as irritated as the girls were.

"So what about that double date that we were planning?" Bulk asked, leering at Kimberly.

"We already told you guys, we're not interested," Trini said. She tried to push Skull's arm off of her shoulder, but he had a tight grip on her. Looking at Kimberly out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Kimberly wasn't able to get away, either.

"So, please, leave us alone," Kimberly added.

"Oh come on, we're sure that you'll have a good time once you get to know us," Bulk added. He brought his chin forward and rested it on Kimberly's shoulder. She winced and pulled her head away from him. "I mean, there's enough of me to go around if that's the problem."

"Yeah," Skull added. "There's enough of him to go around."

Zack's eyes narrowed and he took a step forward. "You heard the girls, leave them alone," he said.

"Don't worry about us, Zack, we can handle them," Trini reassured him. Jason, though, hadn't moved throughout the ordeal. He continued to move his eyes back and forth over Kimberly, Bulk, Skull, and Trini. He knew what the girls could do, they could handle themselves. But he still had the feeling of wanting to help them as much as Zack wanted to.

"Yeah, they can _handle_ us," Bulk continued. His leer turned into a long gaze as he looked Kimberly up and down. Reaching out a hand, Bulk grabbed Kimberly's ass causing her to let out a shriek of surprise and fury. Trini must have fallen to the same fate of Skull because, while she didn't let out a cry like Kimberly did, her face clouded and at the same time, the two flipped Bulk and Skull over their shoulders and onto the ground, where they lay, dazed, staring at the sky.

Jason smiled as Zack laughed. Kimberly and Trini smirked down at the bullies. "You should've joined Jason's karate class. It would have been less humiliating," Kimberly said.

Skull moved to get to his feet, but laid back down, the dazed look still in his eyes. Kimberly and Trini stepped over Bulk and Skull and stepped up next to their friends. "Salutations comrades!" They all turned to see Billy Cranston walking over to them, waving, a cheerful smile on his face. The other teenagers smiled back at him, walking over to meet him.

"Hey Billy, how's it going?" Zack asked, slapping him on the shoulder.

Billy stumbled a little, and then fixed his glasses as they threatened to fall off his nose. "Good. I'm glad I managed to catch up to you all." His eyes shifted behind his four friends and over to Bulk and Skull. "Did I miscue something of the upmost importance?"

Kimberly, Jason, and Zack gave him blank looks.

Trini chuckled. "He asked if he missed anything important." Beside her, Billy nodded.

"Nothing _too_ important," Kimberly said, shaking her head. "C'mon!" The group continued to walk down the street, leaving Bulk and Skull behind.

Bailey turned away from the viewing globe as she looked back at the reading device in her hands. It finally gave her what she was looking for, what she expected. The Power Cube had infinite amounts of power, much more than the Power Sword of the Thunder Mega Zord had in general. _The power must be able to contain itself if it didn't overpower the Thunder Mega Zord,_ Bailey realized. _We really need to find out the origin of this stuff so we can really have the means to defeat Rita and Zedd._

If anyone could do it, the power rangers could.

She knew that for sure.

They were able to get through it all.

* * *

 

Avalon walked through the living room of the Cranston house, head bent over the open backpack that draped off her arm. Everything she needed seemed to be in there. She jumped as something wet suddenly hit her on the side of the head. Reaching a hand up, Avalon turned and saw Billy standing at the sink; hands plunged into soapy water, washing dishes. He smiled at Avalon's glare.

"Your power may be that you can control water, Smurf, but don't think I won't drown you," Avalon warned, walking over to him.

"It's a better way to test out your life saving skills then," Billy replied, still holding onto that shy smile.

Avalon smiled back, shaking her head. She knew what he was referring to, but had a feeling he didn't. He probably thought his comment sounded more innocent than what he had just insinuated. Either way, the thought made her smile with amusement. She rested against the further side of the counter and rested her weight against it. "So how did the tryouts go?" She asked. "Kim, Trini, and I would have gone, but Jason made it absolutely clear that we weren't supposed to be there." She lifted her chin, giving him a knowing look. "I'm guessing he was worried about Kim going into cheerleading mode, right?"

"Affirmative," Billy replied. "We're not going to know who got on the team until the end of the week."

"So how do you think you did?"

"Passable, but we won't know until the Coach puts up the list."

Even with the positive lift in his voice, Avalon could see the doubt residing in his eyes. Reaching out, Avalon patted his hand before pushing herself away from the counter, heading towards the front door. "Where are you going?"

"Out," Avalon said, not slowing her stride. "Don't wait up." She stepped out the front door and closed it behind her a little harder than she intended. She closed her eyes, keeping her hand on the doorknob. She hadn't meant to snap at Billy, but the last thing she wanted at the moment was to have a lot of questions thrown her way. She didn't want her good mood from earlier that day to be wasted away just because her own nerves were shot.

She stated to walk down the sidewalk, her hands in the pockets of her flannel shirt, head down. If anyone was going to jump her, then would be the right time, she wasn't in the right mind. She hadn't been able to get everything she wanted to say out in the open. It wasn't strange for her; she was blunt and honest and usually said the first thing that came to mind. However, she could never talk about her feeling, she preferred to keep things to herself and ignore her emotional plight unless she couldn't hold it in any longer. She had only broken down and cried once recently, when Bailey had demanded to know why they weren't looking for their parents.

She had said that Bailey was too young to understand, maybe she was wrong. Maybe Bailey understood a lot more than Avalon believe, only because she was the older sister and wanted to take care of her. Maybe that was the problem the whole time; that she treated Bailey like her daughter rather than her sister. Acting as a parent more than a friend and confidant that every sister wanted out of her sibling.

Maybe she had been the problem all along…

"Penny for your thoughts? Though considering it's you, you might not be able to spare that much." Avalon rolled her eyes at Jason's teasing. He walked over to her, arms crossed over his chest in his familiar stance, now that Avalon noticed it. He always had a way to tease someone and still give them a disarming smile at the same time. She had seen him do it with the rangers as well as with Bulk and Skull, though the latter seemed not to get it. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Avalon said, stopping in front of him.

Jason gestured over his shoulder towards the house behind him. "I was just putting out the trash and figured I'd see what you were up to." He looked around. "Are you ok?"

"You don't have to be worried about me, Jason, I can take care of myself," Avalon said to him.

"Can't help it," Jason replied. He grimaced, hearing Zack's vice in his head singing the word "protective". He knew if the black ranger had been by his side he would have been short of dancing around Jason, singing the word over and over again as Jason either tried to get him to shut up or beg for the ground to swallow him up then and there. "Were you going somewhere?"

"Why? Were you going to follow me?" Avalon started walking once more. Jason fell into step beside her, though she hadn't invited him to. She didn't mind. She was starting to get used to having someone around her all the time, being a part of the power rangers meant there was always someone to hang out with or turn to. She was starting to figure that out.

"If I have to," Jason said. And he had to. He had to make sure that none of the Vipers were waiting to jump her or drag her into something else that would make things worse around them.

The two continued to walk out of the neighborhood and into the city. Avalon took a right at the third intersection they made it to and led them towards the outskirts of the city. There was an overpass that brought tourists in and out of Angel Grove, also leading towards the baseball stadium that was a few counties over. Jason followed Avalon up to a concrete wall; he watched as she reached out a hand and ran it over the lines of black and silver that created a large shape he couldn't make out.

"It's the symbol for the Vipers," Avalon explained, turning to look at him. "I spray painted it here shortly after I got the tattoo to show my loyalty." She briefly looked over at him before backing up a few steps.

"Are you going to get a tattoo for us?" Jason pressed. He watched Avalon's expression. She appeared to think about it, her eyebrows raising as she dropped her backpack to the ground and opened it. Then a smile appeared on her face. "I was kidding."

"Don't joke about things that hold a truth in them," Avalon pointed out, flipping her hair out of her face and smiling at him. "I could take it for advice," she warned. She pulled out a spray can and looked at the label before starting to shake it, the metal ball inside making a clacking sound with her movements. "And you shouldn't insult me either."

"Insult?" Jason's eyebrows rose. "I merely told the truth."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Rudolph."

"Oh, so we're back to the nickname again?" He asked.

Avalon stopped shaking the spray can and started to spray the pain onto the concrete wall. "Sorry? Does it bother you?" She turned away from the wall and held her hands up. "I mean, I figured it'd be a better chance than potentially getting cooties."

Jason laughed. "Are you always this straight forward?"

"Only when I'm around someone I'm comfortable with," Avalon admitted. She then paused, looking stricken, as if she had just revealed too much. "Lucky for you I made an exception."

"Ouch. I'm feeling the love there, Av." He walked closer to Avalon and stood shoulder to shoulder with her, moving a hand up in front of her mouth as she continued to add to the drawing that was on the wall. "You're really good," he noted, voice muffled form behind his hand. "I didn't know that you were an artist."

"Not many people do," Avalon replied. She lowered her arm and grabbed another spray can, shaking this one as well. "So you're one of the lucky few that gets into the part of Avalon Lily Mitchell that no one else gets to see." She gave him a genuine smile this time. "Lucky you. Most people that get to know me still turn tail and run."

"That was before we became friends," Jason reminded her.

"True. It's funny, when I first met you guys, I thought that there was no way I could ever be friends with any of you. You were all so…together; it was obvious that you'd be there to help each other." Avalon let out a sigh. "To be honest, I was kind of jealous. At that time, I was really into the Vipers and I knew even though I had gone through the ranks to be Chase' right hand man, I knew he didn't trust me. So the trust that you all had in each other, what Bailey and I only had for each other was something I always wanted." She sucked in a breath between her teeth. "Then again, I never pegged myself to become friends with the all American boy either."

"That's all American-Boy-Next-Door, actually," Jason corrected her, causing Avalon to laugh.

"Right, the one with the girls chasing after him left and right and is still inconspicuously single." Avalon backed away from the wall and looked it over for a few long moments. She had connected a bunch of, what looked like random shapes to Jason, to the letter 'V'. Backing up a few paces he could finally make out the shapes were actually letters and they were forming the word 'Valor'. The same word that she had told him that her tattoo stood for. All of the designs around it created a mural where you couldn't look at one part without your eyes being drawn to another piece. As Avalon walked over to the corner and started to spray paint her initials, Jason realized he had seen the same thing around the city.

The news had been up in arms about the vandalism that was popping up everywhere; he didn't know that someone he associated with had been doing it. It must have been an outlet for her, he realized. To be able to express everything in her art work, for a way to be able to express the things she bottled up publicly without having to actually say anything.

Avalon backed up so that she was standing shoulder to shoulder with him once more. Jason reached down and grabbed onto her wrist, right above her hand, to get her attention. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, her face softer than it had been since he first met her. He could see it in her eyes, then, that she was tired and scared and anxious. No one knew what was going to happen in the future and the thought alone was obviously plaguing her more than she wanted to admit.

"I know I've said this before, but something you have to know is that, being a ranger, you're never really as alone as you think you are," Jason said under his breath. Avalon turned to look at him, her dark eyes boring straight into his. "There's always someone that'll be there to help you out whenever you need it, whether in battle or not. I know you're scared about everything that could potentially happen when you least expect it. Me and the others…we want to be able to help you, but you need to open up and let us in sometimes. I promise that we're not going to let all of this weigh down on you and make you feel like there's no other option in ways to continue."

Avalon snorted. "Anything else? Or is it something that's just trying to make yourself feel better? Am I some other person that you want to save? Is it your duties as a power ranger to try and help me too?" She lowered her gaze and was silent for a long moment.

Jason waited for her response.

"Thanks, Jase," she said honestly, the sudden hard edge to her voice gone. "It means a lot. Really. I know that…I always jump to focus on finding the bad things in situations, but I'm used to it. I'm used to finding the bad things in everything, but I'm trying." She turned her head, brushing her cheek with her shoulder.

"Are you ready to go to the police?" Jason asked.

Avalon took a deep breath, placing her hands on her hips. The movement pulled Jason's hand off her wrist. "With my friends by my side…try and stop me."


	30. Enigma

**Chapter 30**

_Enigma_

Avalon reached out and took Bailey's hand in hers, squeezing it tightly as she, Billy, and Mr. and Mrs. Cranston walked into the police station. Officers milled around them, some talking with each other over Styrofoam cups of coffee, others were murmuring as they speed-walked through the halls, some sat behind desks, others were running back and forth, barking orders at each other.

No matter where she looked there was a police officer and it did nothing but greatly remind the orange ranger of how much trouble she had put herself and her friends and family in. She let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair. Bailey looked up and her big sister and squeezed her hand back, giving her a gentle smile. Avalon smiled back and the sisters followed the blue rangers' family over to where they had been instructed to wait. They were going to be brought into an officer's office one by one to be questioned. It was probably going to be a long day, there were so many things they needed to talk about; Avalon's and Bailey's home life, their parents, the gang, things she had done in the gang…who knew what was going to happen.

Would they be sent back home?

Would she be arrested?

Would her parents be arrested?

Turning the corner, Avalon felt herself relax when she spotted her friends and their family sitting in chairs, standing around, leaning against walls, talking quietly with each other as they arrived. Billy smiled and was the first to speak. "Hey everyone," he greeted.

"Hey, they're finally here," Zack called with a teasing lift to his voice. "Now we can all party." Everyone around him laughed, even Avalon was laughing as she walked over to him. She held out her hand and Zack slapped his into it, giving her a high-five. "How you doing, Kid?"

"As good as can be expected, I guess," Avalon replied. She let out a sigh and looked around the adults that were standing by their children. Her eyes shone with sadness for a second before a half smile slid onto her face. "So I'm guessing these are all the party guests?"

Zack laughed. "Close." He motioned behind him. "This is my Mom and Dad." He pointed down the line. "Kim's Mom, Trini's Mom and Dad, Tommy's Mom and Dad, and Jason's Mom and Dad." He turned back to Avalon and Bailey and gave the two of them gentle smiles. "We figured we'd remind you guys how much support you really have, apart from us, I mean."

"Yeah," Kimberly added. "We're here for guys. No matter what."

"Thanks," Bailey smiled. She let go of Avalon's hand and stepped up to Tommy's parents. "Hi, I'm Bailey." She gestured over towards her sister. "And this is Avalon." Avalon gently raised her hand in a wave, dropping it back down to her side, seconds later.

"It's nice to meet you," Mrs. Oliver said warmly. "We've heard so much about you guys, especially from Linda and David." She motioned to Mr. and Mrs. Cranston, who nodded. "Us parents have been talking and we're here for whatever you two need, whenever you need it."

Avalon smiled and nodded once more. She turned at the sound of footsteps heading their way and crossed her arms over her chest when she recognized the officer that was coming their way. His raising eyebrows and slight shake of his head proved he recognized her as well. "Officer Calhoun," she greeted.

"Miss. Mitchell, why am I not surprised to see you?" His face softened for a moment, holding his hands down in front of him. "I've been assigned to deal with your case, it's a…" he paused, glancing at the folder. "Very interesting one to say the least, especially considering you haven't been in the states long." He cleared his throat then addressed everyone else. "I'm Officer Calhoun; I'm going to be working closely with you and Child Protective Services as the case progresses. So if there's anything you need you can directly contact me." He turned to Avalon and held out an arm, motioning for her to go into the office. "Are you ready to get started?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Avalon said.

Tommy watched as she took one last look around at her friends before following Officer Calhoun into the office. He brought a hand up and ran it over his ponytail before turning to Bailey, who sat down in an empty eat, looking down at her hands. "Don't worry about Avalon, Bay; she knows how to handle herself." He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it. "And while you're waiting, I'll be right here."

Bailey nodded.

"Is everything really going to be ok though?" Trini asked. She placed a hand on her hip. "I mean, what'll happen when she tells them the things that she's done." She chewed her lower lip. "I mean, I don't think it'll be a good outcome, quite honestly."

"Just stay positive guys," Jason reminded them. He turned to look at his father, who smiled down at him. "We're going to do all we can to make sure things go smoothly."

Billy turned away from his friends, running a hand over his mouth. He exchanged a glance with Trini and knew she was thinking the same thing. What would happen when William Mitchell's real life got revealed? It was bound to happen now that Avalon was willing to talk to the police about everything that had been going on with her and Bailey since they arrived in Angel Grove three years prior. There was still the fact he and Trini were the only ones who knew he had a double life with another family. He didn't know everything with that story, he was still researching it himself, but the information was damning to anyone who knew or anyone that found out. It was starting to kill him, the two were now living in his house, Avalon was one of his best friends, Bailey was his assistant at the Command Center and he was the one that was keeping this big secret from them.

It helped that Trini knew about it as well, she was a good person for him to confide in, even before they had starting dating. She was always there to help him out whenever he needed it and was willing to put up with his scientific expressions when he got excited or was trying to explain something that was going on. She was always there to support him, giving him words of encouragement whenever he had incredible amounts of pressure put on him.

Trini gave him a reassuring smile. Billy smiled back, and then frowned, his eyes shifting when he noticed Mr. and Mrs. Kwan giving him disapproving looks. His face screwed up in confusion, scratching the back of his neck. Why were they frowning at him? He had been nothing but nice and courteous to the Kwans since he had first become friends with Trini. They usually greeted him with a pleasant smile and kind words whenever they were around each other.

 _Did I do something wrong?_ Billy thought.

* * *

 

Officer Calhoun closed the door behind Avalon and she sat down in the cold chair that sat across his desk. Leaning back, she brought her feet up and rested them on top of his desk. He thought about pushing them to the floor, but knew she would just put them back up again. He had been the arresting officer for the Vipers and as long as he had been, more of the recent arrests he had made had been Avalon and the rest of the Vipers. Though he had to admit she had been doing a good job of staying out of trouble recently. Officer Calhoun plopped down into his chair and dropped the file folder onto the desk.

"Going over this case, hearing what I've heard from Child Protective Services, your parents don't seem to be in the picture," Officer Calhoun said. He shifted a few papers aside, glancing over at them. "And that you're currently staying with David and Linda Cranston for the time being."

"Yep," Avalon agreed. She scratched the back of her neck, moving her hair to her free shoulder. "They were gracious enough to let me stay at their home, and Jason's father, Mr. Scott, he's a lawyer, and apparently he can help me figure out what my options are…"

"At the moment you seem to be in a pretty good place," Officer Calhoun reminded her. He leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs at the knee, resting his hands on his thighs. He laced his fingers together and rested them on his stomach. "You obviously have a great support system around you with all of your friends. And, considering I haven't seen you around here a lot, it appears that you're doing your best o get away from Chase and the rest of the Vipers."

Avalon snorted. "How long have you been tracking them?"

"Long enough," he replied. "It's one of my specific assignments, actually. My job is to make sure that I know what the Vipers are doing, who they're fighting against, when it's going to happen, and where it's going to go down. That way I can take the people that we specifically need; the drug runners, those that sell firearms, the weak links. Anything we can do try and make Angel Grove as safe as possible." His eyebrows lowered for a moment. "I'm just, surprised that you're willing to leave. Have you thought about the dangers that come with it?"

Avalon snorted again. "Have you not met Chase? I'm sure you've had him here on more than one occasion." She leaned towards him, lowering her voice. "Listen, that guy is fucking psychotic. He will do anything to anybody to make sure he gets his way. His clique, his part of the Vipers, is tiny. But he has connections to the bigger cliques all over the states, some people I've never even heard of." She rested her hands on the desk and leaned even further forward. "But…I have to think about my sister and about my friends. I was a part of that life…because I had nothing else. Now I have something…I have people that care and I can't jeopardize that. It's not worth it anymore."

Officer Calhoun smiled warmly, the first genuine smile he had shown that day. "Glad to hear it, Avalon," he said. "It's a welcome change to see you now, from when I had first picked you up off the streets."

Avalon winced at the thought. It was tough out there; she and Bailey had been running around with the Vipers before finding their apartment for a long time. She remembered staying awake as long as possible to make sure no one would try to come up and harm her or Bailey. She remembered her days of staying in the warehouse with the rest of the Vipers and being up at all hours of the night, going off on different hits to get money whenever was needed. And to think that all of it would have been avoided if she had told the police, in the first place, that they had been left by their parents and had nowhere to stay.

"Now, the only other question I have for you is whether or not you've really thought about your decision to leave," Officer Calhoun said. Avalon nodded. "I don't need to remind you of the danger. I've already had many restless nights arriving at a crime scene to find the remains of what used to be a gang member. They don't take betrayal lightly."

Avalon reached up and gently ran her fingers down the side of her cheek. "Trust me, I know," she said. "That's why I was thinking that I could…slowly work my way out. Enough so they would forget about me. If I suddenly disappear, Chase'll know something's up and he'll immediately come to find me." She held up a finger as Officer Calhoun opened his mouth. "Putting up a restraining order against him probably won't help either." She clapped her hands together. "And I'm sure that you're going to want to grant me some sort of protection if I give you information about some of the things we've done recently."

"I'm sure you'd need a lawyer for that," Officer Calhoun reminded her.

"As far as I'm concerned, I think Mr. Scott may be filling that position, though I don't have the means to pay him."

"Have you ever thought of emancipating yourself?"

"I've thought about it, but…what would that mean for my Mum and Dad? And with Australian laws and everything. I don't think I'm legally living here."

Officer Calhoun nodded. "Now that you're staying at the Cranstons, you have the ability to become an American citizen, if not becoming a duel America-Australian citizen." He stated to push his chair back and forth, using the foot that was firmly planted on the floor. "Though I will admit that it may be hard for you, considering at the moment you're looking at probation and community service."

"I can deal with that, just as long as my sister is ok," Avalon said. She lowered her gaze to the flower, gently chewing her lower lip. "I'll do anything to make sure my sister is OK, I don't care what else will happen with me, just as long as she's safe."

"You're doing a good job with that already, Avalon, just by asking for help," Officer Calhoun reminded her. He pulled over a pad of paper. "Now, is there anything that you can tell us about your parents so that we can figure out how to proceed on that front?"

Avalon gave a wry smile. "You've never heard of William Mitchell?"

* * *

 

"Kiya!" Bailey shouted. She leaned back on her left leg and drove her right foot into the punching bag that stood in front of her. Once her heel connected with the bag, she lowered it and spun in a quick circle shooting her left foot into the bag as well, jumping high into the air as she did so. "Aiya!" Bailey backed up a few steps and shoved her fists into the bag.

Once her routine was completed she took a step back, slapped her hands down to her sides, and bowed to Tommy and Jason, who were watching the routine. Once she came back up, she brought her hands up, skipping over to her friends.

"How was that?" She asked, bouncing on her toes.

"You did a great job, Bailey," Fred said, coming up behind her. He tightened the white belt around his white gi.

"Fred's right," Tommy agreed. He reached out and patted Jason on the shoulder, who stood before the two young teens, his hands lightly resting on his black belt. "You two have been working hard since you've started and it really shows. You'll be going for your yellow belts."

"With a lot of practice, hard work, and dedication you may be able to advance quicker than any other students we've had," Jason agreed. He dropped his hands from his belt and moved them behind his back. "You should be really proud of yourselves."

As serious as ever, Jason took a lot of pride in his martial arts training and teaching others, if compared to officials he was a 'bad cop' instructor with his serious face and no-nonsense in his classes while Tommy was the 'good cop' instructor, doing his best to encourage his students, though backing up the direction that Jason gave.

Bailey found that she preferred to have her lesson with Tommy rather than Jason, as the two of them had grown to be close. Whenever Avalon had to run off with the gang at a moment's notice, Tommy was always willing to step up and bring Bailey with him wherever he was going or just hanging out with her. Now that Avalon was limiting her time with the gang and Bailey spent a lot of her time working on the science fair, there weren't many opportunities for the two to hang out, but they did enjoy spending their time together. They had a special bond, as special as it could be considering Tommy was the one that was there to help her when she had first gotten her period. If two people couldn't bond over that, it was a lost cause.

"Really?" Fred looked like he was trying his hardest not to let his excitement take him over.

"Yeah, man," Tommy agreed. "You'll probably be better than me and Jase in no time."

Jason laughed, finally breaking out his serious expression. "I don't know about that," he said. "But if you continue to work hard you'll be proud of your results." He brought his hands together and bowed at the two young teens. They did the same and bowed back. "Alright, you're done for the day. We'll see you at your next lesson." He slapped Tommy on the shoulder and motioned over to the other side of the Juice bar where the other rangers were all studying together. "C'mon."

"I'll be there in a minute," Tommy said. He turned back to Bailey, placing a hand on her shoulder and kneeling down to her level. "How's everything going, Bailey?" He asked her. Bailey shrugged. "After being at the police station, I bet things are a bit different now."

"Now that different," Bailey said. "I mean, Av's happier that much is obvious. But we're still on edge from time to time, not knowing what Chase is going to do or how much he's heard." She scratched the back of her neck. "Otherwise we're taking things one day at a time. Things are getting better."

"Alright, cool." Tommy moved to stand up but Bailey curled her finger, motioning for him to come back down to her level again. "What?"

"Valentine's Day is coming up," she reminded him. "Have you gotten Kim her gift yet?" Tommy started to stammer out and answer and Bailey smiled, shaking her head. "I didn't think so. Boys, they're so clueless." She gave him a sympathetic pat on the cheek, heaving a sigh. "What would you do without me?" Tommy smiled, shaking his head. "I think you should surprise her every day leading up to Valentine's Day, with, little notes or something, anything that will keep her off track, then hit her with a big surprise." She held up her hand as if giving an oath. "It worked for my Mum and Dad; it should work for you, too."

"Thanks Bay." Tommy reached out and ruffled her hair. "You're right! What would I do without you?" He tossed a wink her way. "And if you ever need help with any boy troubles…"

Bailey's eyes widened, her cheeks flushing. "No! I'm fine!" She waved her hands. "I'm good! I don't need any help!" Tommy laughed and hurried over to catch up with his friends. Bailey brought a hand up to her temples, turning to walk over to her bag.

Fred walked at her side, grinning at her. "So who's the boy that you need advice for?"

Bailey scowled at him. "Don't joke. He's just teasing because it's almost Valentine's Day." She bobbed her head back and forth. "The day is just a clever marketing ploy for outlets that cater to feelings of romance and those that have cards for every occasion to capitalize on." She rolled her eyes before taking the towel he handed to her.

"I knew it!" Fred snapped his fingers. "You're a Valentine's Day cynic."

"It's hard _not_ to be a cynic when you have a bunch of hormone crazed teenagers as friends around you," Bailey pointed out. She laughed a little. "Have you seen Tommy and Kim? Jason and Zack only wish that they had had girls that were into them as much as they talk about it, and Av doesn't date." Bailey shook her head.

"What about Billy and Trini?" Fred glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He frowned, turning to face her fully as Bailey shrugged and fell silent once more.

He scratched the back of his head then leaned over to pick up his hat from his gym bag. It must have been something that really bummed her out if she didn't want to talk about it. The more time he and Bailey spent together he had noticed how much she liked to talk and how much she, usually, liked to gossip about the older teenagers. It was obvious that she greatly valued her relationship with her sister, the two were obviously close, and she had gained many friends from the others as well. She always had something to good to say about each of them, now she was quieter than he had ever seen her.

There must be something he could do to cheer her up. He pressed his cap down onto his head and lifted his bag from the ground. "My Dad should be here soon; do you want to meet him?" He smiled sheepishly. "I've talked about our project enough at home that Dad's starting to insist on it." He then added under his breath, "as embarrassing as it is."

"Let me just tell Av where I'm going," Bailey said. She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder before walking over to the orange ranger, who was frowning down at a notebook. Bailey laughed, tapping her sister on the shoulder. "Be carefully, Sis, your face might freeze like that." She squinted an eye. "Though it'll definitely be an improvement."

"You're so fucking funny, Bay," Avalon murmured. "Hysterical."

"I know." Bailey smiled as the other rangers laughed. She leaned over her sister's shoulder. "What are you looking at, anyway?"

"A list of potential jobs that I can do," Avalon replied. Bailey's eyes scanned the page, looking over the different jobs at the movie theater, some restaurants, different stores, even getting a paper route. Some of them had 'x's marked by them. "So far I'm not having much luck."

Bailey now flicked her sister in the middle of the forehead. "Duh, why don't you work here with Ernie?"

"Yeah, that's a great idea," Zack agreed. "Ernie's will be a great place for you to work. We're here basically every day as it is and you suck down those smoothies like your life depends on it."

Kimberly smirked at him. "You're just trying to, like; get things for free aren't you?"

Zack spread his arms, grinning. "Hey, you have to take every opportunity that comes your way, right?" He laughed and lifted a hand, giving Jason a high-five. Billy and Trini laughed, causing Avalon roll her eyes and lift her hand, giving her friends the middle finger along with a, "cheers, mates."

"Anyway, I'm going to go hang out with Fred for a while, probably go back to his house." She looked at him over her shoulder and he nodded in agreement. "Just for a couple of hours or so, no worries." Avalon nodded.

"No worries," She agreed. "I'll pick you up later, Bay." Bailey then leaned over and gave her sister a kiss on the cheek before straightening and pulling her bag higher on her shoulder. "C'mon," she said to Fred and the two started to leave the juice bar.

"They've been spending a lot of time together, don't you think?" Trini asked Avalon.

"I don't care who it is as long as she's safe," Avalon said, raising a hand. "And Fred's a pretty cool kid, he seems to be enjoying himself with the karate training and he's been making her feel welcome while at school." She then pointed at her friends, her face turning serious. "But if that kid does something to hurt her, he's fucked."

The rangers laughed.

Outside, Bailey and Fred walked out of the youth center and slowly walked towards the road in front of them, waiting for Fred's father to appear. "He should be here any minute," Fred reassured Bailey. "Sometimes his construction jobs keep him out later than usual."

"It's alright," Bailey reassured him. She started to dig through her bag. "It'll give us time to fine-tune our project before we start to put the rest of it together." She lifted her head, flicking her hair out of her face. "You did a good job with the preliminary blueprints, by the way."

"Because I'm that awesome," Fred boasted, puffing out his chest. "I'm awesome at school and with martial arts."

"That's just because you have a good teacher," Bailey teased. She looked up at Fred's gasp just as a putty reached out and grabbed onto her bag. The force of his yank caused her to go tumbling to the ground. She landed on her side with a thud and scrambled to her feet as putties encircled her and Fred. "Fred, you may want to get out of here," she said.

"No way," he declared. "These guys are going down." He leapt forward and started to attack the putties that reached out to grab him. He punched one in the Z before resting his weight on his left leg and sticking out his right behind him, striking another one in the chest.

Bailey went into the routine that Jason and Tommy had just taught her. The putties fell right into every position she needed them to be, allowing her to take them out with ease. She ducked a putty that went flying overhead and did a judo sweep, knocking another one off of his feet. She flipped over him and shoved her fists forward, hitting a putty in the chest.

"Hold still!" Fred called. He raced over to her and placed a foot on her back, using it to propel himself forward, giving a scissor kick to a couple other putties knocking them.

"Good one," Bailey congratulated. She got to her feet and the two spun forward, punching and kicking putties until they were backed up against nearby tree trunks. They balanced their weight on their back legs then jumped forward, kicking their legs forward and catching them in the chest.

The putties wiggled around for a few seconds before breaking apart and flying away. Bailey turned and gave Fred a high-five. "I wonder what's up with these guys," Fred took off his hat and wiped sweat from his forehead. "They're coming around a lot lately."

"Who knows," Bailey replied. "Rita will do anything to make sure she destroys Angel Grove." Realizing her mistake and noticing Fred staring at her, she closed her eyes and looked back towards him. "That's what I heard them say on TV anyway."

"My Dad says that the longer Rita stays around, the more jobs he's going to get," Fred said. He gently slapped himself on the side of the head. "Speaking of, I hope he didn't see that." His eyes started to move around the parking lot, looking for his father's truck. When he didn't see him, he turned back to Bailey, and noticed her running back inside to the youth center. He waved an arm. "Where are you going?" He frowned, looking at his feet for a moment before returning his gaze to her retreating form.

"I have to tell Av what happened!" Bailey called back over her shoulder. "I'll be back!" Bailey hurried inside the Youth Center and over to her friends. "Guys!" She practically threw herself onto the table. "There's been a putty attack," She said.

"What?" Billy immediately went tense. "Where?"

"Outside," Bailey replied. "Fred and I were just attacked."

Avalon grabbed onto her sister's arm. "Are you ok?"

"Beauty," Bailey said breathlessly. Their communicators went off and she followed the rangers away from the table and to a private hallway, around the corner from the lockers rooms. She looked around and listened as Tommy pressed the side of his communicator.

"What's up, Zordon?"

" _Rangers, my sensors indicate that Rita and Zedd have sent out their Libra monster, Libranian. He's attacking Angel Grove. You need to get there as soon as possible."_

"We have no time to waste," Tommy declared. He, Kimberly, Jason, Trini, Zack, Billy, and Avalon grabbed their morphers. "It's morphin' time! Tiger Zord!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber Tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The rangers morphed and teleported out of the Youth Center. Bailey shielded her eyes against the light and glanced around, making sure no one else was watching, before lifting her communicator up to her mouth.

"I'm headed back to the Command Center," Bailey said. She pressed a button the side of her communicator and teleported to the Command Center. She hurried to Alpha's side and started to push buttons in a specific, familiar sequence, starting up the engines and hydraulics of the zords, waiting for the time they were going to be called forth in battle. "This is a Monster based on the scales?"

"That's correct, Bailey," Zordon agreed. "He has the ability to use his scales for a number of different uses, including holding control over the rangers' sense of gravity. Rita and Zedd have created a formidable opponent with this monster."

"Don't worry, Zordon," Alpha reassured him. "The Rangers can stop him."

Bailey turned away from the control panel and watched the viewing globe as her sister and the other rangers landed in the park where Libranian was attacking. Putties crawled around and the rangers fended them off first. "I think we should wait to see if the Power Cube will be needed," Bailey said, her eyes glued to the viewing globe. "We need to give Trini some time to get used to her new powers."

"That's an excellent idea, Bailey."

Bailey smiled, continuing to watch. She grimaced, watching as the rangers defeated the putties and started attacking the Libra monster. He continued to use the chains from his scales to whip them back out of the way. The trays they were attached to struck Trini and, like a swing, knocked her backwards onto the ground.

"Alpha," Bailey said, motioning over the Rangers' companion. When he was close enough she lowered her voice. "Don't you think it's time that you tell them about the Ankylosaurus Power Coin?" She raised and lowered a shoulder. "The Power Cube can only help them for so long before Rita and Zedd find other ways to make their monsters more powerful."

"The new ranger will be revealed in time," Alpha replied. "And only time will tell when that ranger is needed." He paused for a moment before looking over at Zordon. The mentor nodded back at Alpha and the robot turned back to Bailey, who pushed her glasses up her nose in anticipation. "And as it stands, Bailey, the power of the Ankylosaurus ranger is very dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Bailey's eyebrows twitched. "Dangerous how?"

"That, sadly, I cannot tell you," Alpha said. "Everything will be revealed when the time is right. You just have to trust that we're making the right decision."

 _Where have I heard that one before?_ Bailey thought. She sighed.


	31. Blood Orange

**Chapter 31**

_Blood Orange_

* * *

 

Avalon let out a deep breath, lowering the barbell down to her chest, and then lifting it back up again. She concentrated on the ceiling, doing her best to keep her breathing steady. It wasn't that the weights were that heavy, being able to lift more than the average person, she found it hard to do weight training without someone watching her. Then she had to pretend to struggle when the eighty pounds felt more like lifting a marshmallow than lifting a car. Thankfully, the youth center seemed to be pretty empty this time around, so she was able to put all the weights she wanted on the bar bell.

"Ok Av, just five more," she said to herself. Sweat rolled from her forehead down the sides of her face, dripping onto the floor underneath her. The droplets collected in the fluffy blue towel she had spread on the floor underneath the bench. "Five….four…three….uh…..two…." Avalon's arms started to wobble and before she knew it, she had the bar bell pressed against her chest. Closing her eyes, Avalon struggled to utilize her muscles, but they gave up on her, keeping the bar bell down.

She was already using most of her strength to keep it from falling onto her neck. "Oh hell," she muttered under her breath. Instead of calling out for help, she continued to try and push it off. "Bollocks!"

"So!" Avalon opened her eyes to find Jason standing above her, resting his arms on the rack where the barbell was to be replaced. Her right eye squinted in irritation. Jason smiled peacefully down at her. "Talk me through what's happened here."

"You wanna help me get this bar off first," Avalon said through gritted teeth.

"Nope," Jason said simply. He smiled smugly down at her, clearly enjoying her plight. "You're supposed to have a spotter when lifting weights. You know that."

"Well, sorry Rudolph, but you know that I don't like to follow the rules very much," Avalon replied. She grunted, shifting her grip on the barbell. It was starting to dig into her hands; her arms were already quivering like Jell-o. "Especially when I'm told them over and over again."

Jason shook his head, much like a parent reprimanding their child. "Leapt before you looked," he surmised.

"Yeah, I've been doing it all my life," Avalon said. Despite the fact she felt like the weight was going to, quite literally, crush her chest, she rolled her eyes. "Now can you please get this bar off me?" Jason reached over and grabbed onto the bar, helping her place it back on its holder. The whole contraption rocked with the shift of weight, almost knocking Jason over. Avalon let out a gasp of relief, bringing her hands up to rest on her forehead.

Jason walked around to the front of the bench and grabbed onto her hands, pulling her to her feet in one tug. Avalon blinked, suddenly looking directly at his chest. Her eyes moved over the muscles on his arms. Backing up a couple of steps, she stumbled and sat back down on the bench. Jason laughed, causing Avalon to scowl and reach out, smacking him on the arm.

"What are you doing here anyway? The other reindeers wouldn't let you play their reindeer games?" Avalon smirked at Jason, reaching underneath the bench and grabbing the towel off the ground. She slung it around her neck before standing up.

Jason reached out and gently pushed on her arm as the two walked over towards the other side of the Youth Center. "You've waited a long time to say that, haven't you?"

"You're brighter than you look, mate," Avalon said and smiled teasingly at him. She shrugged, stepping around him and walking over to the balance beam, where Kimberly was slowly making her way across, arms outstretched, Trini stood underneath her, watching. "Must be the shiny nose."

"Ha ha." Jason rolled his eyes.

Avalon walked over to the pink and yellow rangers, watching as Kimberly did a perfect front flip, landing not the beam with a thud. She nodded appreciatively as Kimberly jumped to the ground. Trini reached out and grabbed onto her arm. "Kim, that was great."

"Thanks!" Kimberly beamed. "I've been practicing really hard to be sure I got that part down." She then reached out and then squeezed Trini's arm. "Thanks for spotting me."

"No problem, Kim!"

Avalon ignored the smug smile Jason shot her way. Kimberly turned to Jason and smiled at him. "Hey Jase, what's up?"

Jason shrugged. "Oh not much, just waiting for the other guys to get here," he said, his eyes moving over to the entrance to the Youth Center. It was still as empty as it was before. Jason bobbed his head back and forth for a minute before unzipping the jacket he was wearing, revealing a football jersey. "We wanted to surprise you guys, but I can't resist."

"You made it?" Trini's eyes widened. "All of you?"

"Yeah, all of us made it," Jason confirmed. "The coach thought that our friendship was a good factor for team morale as well as the fact that we all played pretty well." He clasped his hands together. "Our team is really good and our first game is soon, you all should come watch."

"We'll be there," Kimberly agreed, smiling and nodding over at the yellow ranger, who nodded back. "You should come too, Av."

"Watching a bunch of guys throw a ball around and smash into each other helmets first? What's not to like?" Avalon joked, causing the others to laugh. She pulled her hair from her face. "I'll be there, of course. And you know Bay wouldn't miss it."

"Thanks guys," Jason said his smile widening. "This really means a lot."

"This calls for celebration!" Kimberly declared, lacing her fingers together. She gently twisted back and forth, thinking. "Smoothies all around, it's on me!" She started towards the juice bar, but Avalon grabbed onto her arm, pulling her back.

"I'll get them, if I'm going to try and get a job here, I may as well see how well I do," She said. Walking over to the juice bar, Avalon tightened the orange jacket wrapped around her waist and moved over to Ernie, resting her arms on the counter. "Hey Ernie, could I get eight smoothies? Nine if Fred is coming over as well."

"You got it, Avalon," Ernie said. He grabbed a bunch of fruit and started to dump them into the blender. "Hey, I heard about what happened with you and Bailey, I'm sorry about that." Avalon shrugged, choosing not to go further into the conversation. "If there's anything I can do to help—"

"Now that you mention it, you could be a real mate and give me a job," Avalon said. She stood up straight, brushing her hair behind her ears. "I need to make some money, something so it doesn't feel like I'm mooching off the Cranstons while I'm there."

Ernie thought about it for a moment, slowly nodding, his face scrunching up as he thought about it. "Tell you what? How about I give you some tables today and we'll see how you do."

"Ace! Thanks." Avalon waited as Ernie made the nine smoothies and placed them on a large tray. He pushed the tray over to her and Avalon carefully picked it up, turning around to walk it back over to her friends. As she turned, she found Tommy and Billy standing behind her and jumped, knocking the tray over onto the floor. Tommy laughed, moving out of the way of the fruity waterfall, making its way over to the stairs. "Ugh and I thought I stopped being such a klutz!" She got down on her knees and started to gather the cups.

"Clumsiness is a predisposition that may have been linked back to the fundamentals each child is born with and it appears that, through some research that it isn't able to be eliminated," Billy rambled, taking napkins off a table and sopping up some of the mess. Avalon's eyebrows lowered and she exchanged a confused glance with Tommy.

Tommy laughed and turned away from her, looking at the blue ranger. "I think we may need some subtitles here."

"Being clumsy is hereditary so one of your parents passed it down to you," Billy said with a chuckle. "So unfortunately, you're not going to grow out of it."

"Great," Avalon sighed. "Just be glad that I didn't get any of it on your pretty, white jersey." Avalon's eyes lit up as she reached out and grabbed onto the blue ranger's shoulder, shaking him. "Congrats, Smurf! I told you, you were gonna make the team! I'm proud of you." Tommy made a coughing sound, moving his fist up to his mouth. Avalon rolled her eyes. "You too, Tommo. Seriously, I'm happy for you lot."

"Thanks, Av," Tommy said. The three of them stood up and Avalon went back to the bar, giving Ernie a sheepish smile as he started to make the drinks for them again. "The next game should be coming up soon, so we need to get as much practice in as we can."

"Judging everyone's standards from the try-outs from earlier this week, I deduce that we have an outgoing likelihood of success," Billy agreed.

"I'll take your word for it, Smurf," Avalon said, smiling at him.

Billy smiled back.

The three waited until Ernie finished the drinks and evenly passed them out, giving Avalon a look and they went back over to their friends, passing out the drinks to everyone. Trini then held up her cup, starting a toast. "To the boys!" She looped her arm through Billy's and smiled up at him. "They're going to take the Angel Grove high football team to the championship!"

"To the boys!" Avalon and Kimberly echoed and the group started to clink their cups together. They all took long sips of their smoothies before settling down around a table. "So!" Kimberly drummed her hands on the table. "Tell us everything! How was practice? What positions are you playing?"

Tommy started to explain the process of their football tryouts when Avalon's phone buzzed. She looked down at it before pulling it out of her pocket and illuminating the screen. She had a text. Tilting her head forward, she allowed her hair to cover her face as she read the text. She let out a sigh, catching Billy's attention.

"Everything ok?" He asked her.

Mutely, Avalon shook her head. She put her phone back into her pocket. "Gotta jet." She lifted her cup and finished her smoothie, licking it from her upper lip as she did so. She turned to Tommy, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Look after Bailey for me?"

"Of course," Tommy said.

"I'll be back soon." Avalon started to stand up.

"Don't go." Jason's voice stopped her in her tracks. Even that surprised her. Something about his voice, something in his tone had made her stop and she wasn't sure what.

Zack glanced over at Jason and then back at Avalon. When he saw the stern look on her face, a complete one-eighty from the cheerfulness she had been showing moments before, he immediately knew what they were talking about. "Seriously, Av. There must be something else that you can do. Don't feel like you have to do what he says."

Avalon tilted her head to the side, shrugging. Her right eyebrow rose in warning, looking around the table. Kimberly and Trini looked at each other before all eyes turned to the orange ranger. She let out a sigh, placing her hands on her hips, looking directly at Jason. "Don't really have much of a choice, mate."

"Yes, you do," Jason pressed. "Don't go. All you're doing is giving him exactly what he wants."

"And if you knew Chase, you'd know it's not a good idea to go against his wishes," Avalon said through clenched teeth. Her eyes flashed. "Seriously, it'll be worse for everyone if I _don't_ go." She dropped her hands and clenched them into fists. "Now, Bailey's done working with Fred within the next twenty minutes. So if you could please just watch her for a while until I get back—"

"Why should we do that for you?" Jason interrupted.

"I'm sorry, I thought friends were supposed to help each other," Avalon said with massive amounts of attitude.

"Guys, please don't fight about this," Billy said, raising a hand. "It's not the best place to talk and raising your voices isn't going to facilitate the situation get remedied anytime soon." He looked helplessly back and forth between the red and orange rangers. Avalon glared at Jason, though her face softened when she gazed down at Billy.

"This is a difficult situation as it is," Trini agreed, her quiet voice lending a helping hand. "We can't know what's the right and wrong thing to do."

 _Easy for you to say,_ Avalon thought, crossing her arms over her chest. She stuck out her lower jaw, turning her gaze to her feet. There really was no way to say what was good or bad in her decision, people treated it as black and white. They didn't know what it was like, no matter how she could try to explain it to them, they were going to only see it as dangerous and that she needed to get away. They didn't see how they had helped Avalon from time to time and how they had moments of really acting like a family to each other.

"Yeah, what if you get, like, really hurt?" Kimberly agreed.

"Av, don't," Jason repeated. He stood up and walked around the table and grabbed onto her shoulders. He looked directly at her. "You're making a big mistake if you go."

"Last I checked, you weren't the leader of this team," Avalon snapped.

Jason's eyes now turned hard. He dropped his hands from Avalon's shoulders. "I have faith in Tommy agreeing with me on this one. You going can cost you more than you're willing to risk." He lifted a hand and placed it on his chest. "I'm not going to allow you to put these guys in danger."

"I'm not going to—"

"And I'm not going to allow you the opportunity to do it."

Avalon's mouth dropped open. She slowly closed it, her lower jaw trembling, and then glared fiercely at Jason.

"I agree with Jase," Zack said apologetically. "We can't risk it."

Lifting both of her hands, she gave the red ranger the middle finger. "Fuck you, Jason!" Avalon spat before turning on her heel and stomped out of the Youth Center.

* * *

 

Avalon teleported to the Viper's warehouse and walked inside, slamming the door shut behind her. She could hear the sound of footsteps on the metal staircase, leading up to the lookout point. She should have known someone was there. There was always someone there. Sauntering into the room to her left, Avalon found Chase was lying on the threadbare couch, Skye was in the lookout tower, and Summer was looking over the supplies. Sitting on the ground, a plethora was weapons and medical supplies were fanned out in front of her.

"What's up?" Avalon greeted the room, brushing her dark hair behind her shoulders. Summer nodded, but didn't look up from the floor.

"Yo." Chase waved a hand then swung his legs to the floor, sitting up. He pointed at Avalon. "Watcha been up to?" He gave her a critical gaze. "I've been looking for you."

"I bet you were," she replied. Normally she wouldn't have talked back to him like that, but she was past caring at this point. "Especially considering the last time you were out without me." She shrugged, regarding him with a cool stare. "I'm surprised you lot didn't get caught. I figured, having my name in the papers and everything recently, it'd be best if I didn't show up for a while, in case you all got caught or something."

Chase nodded but said, "You missed out on a lot, Pinkie."

"You're just gonna have to catch me up," she said. _And hopefully you'll be busy enough you won't notice when I get away from you for good._

Chase walked over to her and grabbed onto her chin, forcing her head up so she was looking at him. He continued to stare at her, unblinking for a few moments. Then he smiled and dropped his hand before clapping her on the back. "Things have been sucking without you here."

"You can say that again," Summer said. She threw a wink Chase's way.

Avalon held up her hands. "I don't even want to know."

"Bite me." Chase's dark eyebrows lowered. Shrugging, he addressed Avalon. "You still got that pistol I gave ya? I could have used your shot lately." He snapped out a foot, striking Summer on the knee. His lips curled into a sinister smirk at her cry of pain. "How much we got left?"

"Of medical supplies? One more fight and we'll be out," she said. Stretching up from her hunched over position, she stretched her arms over her head. "Of weapons, we have enough to last us for a while. Ammo…not so much."

"So we're going into town tomorrow," Chase said, giving the middle finger and pressing it to the side of his head, rolling his eyes. Avalon suddenly felt guilty, remembering the way she had just talked to Jason and screwed her friends over. It was enough to drive her crazy at this point. Chase got to his feet and started to pace the floor. All eyes were on him, just the way he liked it. "Skye! Get down here!"

Avalon crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for Skye to join them. She kicked at the ground, mentally planning her excuses to leave over time. She couldn't stop going that fast, not if the police were going to get involved, then Chase would surely strike back before she could be sure thing were ok. Now, she had to go slowly and the more thought out excuses she gave, the easier it would be. She just needed to slowly fade herself out until she was a figment of their imagination.

"What's up?" Skye entered the room, dropping onto the couch Chase had just occupied.

"We've got a name to live up to," Chase said, his voice echoing through the warehouse. "Our friends who were gunned down. We lost Sammy in a knife fight. Others are holed up in jail. We're the only ones left. We need to show the city that we run this place. We need to prove that we're not ones to be messed with."

Avalon turned at the sound of a banging from the front door of the warehouse. "Shut up!" She held her hands up, noticing the wild looks in the others' eyes. Chase's hand inched towards his waist. "Calm down, Chase. You don't want to do something you'll regret." She briefly closed her eyes, Jason's words echoing in her head again. It was a tape recording that kept looping over and over.

Chase pointed with his chin towards the warehouse door. "Go check it out, Pinkie."

Avalon turned on her heel and crept towards the door. She opened it and was immediately on her guard, spotting Tim, the leader of the High-Flyers. A quick glance over proved that he didn't have any weapons on him. On her guard, she narrowed her eyes into a glare. "You've got three seconds to say why you're here..." she trailed off, allowing the threat to fill the air.

Tim's eyes shifted for a moment before he looked over her head at Chase. "I've got some business with him."

"Chase?" Avalon looked at him over her shoulder. He sucked his lips into his mouth then pulled his hand out from his waist. A small pistol was in his hand, pointed directly at Tim's face.

"Shut up, walk inside, and if you have any weapons on you, slowly place them on the end table of the couch." He smirked. "Don't try anything funny, it'll end badly for you. Avalon! Let him in."

Avalon stepped to the side and allowed Tim into the warehouse. With a sharp kick of her foot, the door slammed shut loudly, sounding like Chase's gun had gone off. Tim walked over to the couch and made a show of emptying his pockets, nothing there. He turned his hands back and forth; tattoos adorned his knuckles, to further prove that he was clean.

"What d'you want?" Skye was the first to question.

"And make it quick!" Summer added.

"Did you hear?" Tim's eyebrows lowered. Avalon glanced over at Chase. His arm was still up, pointing the gun at Tim, but his eyebrows were lowered as well, in a look of malice. "There was a massive bust today; people from both sides are being taken in." He shook his head. "It's only a matter of time until we're snitched."

Chase cursed.

Skye ran a hand over his face.

Summer turned and kicked at the wall.

Avalon felt like she was going to pass out. People from the Vipers and the High-Flyers had been taken to jail. It was only a matter of time until both gangs were taken out. That wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that Avalon's betrayal to the Vipers, letting the cops know what she'd done before and what they had planned, would most likely get out as well. Gang connected ran a lot further than work connections. Especially where betrayal was concerned.

"They're going to move faster than we thought," Chase murmured. He faltered, slowly lowering his gun. "What else do you know?"

"That's all I got so far," Tim relayed. "A lot of my guys were taken in. So were yours. I figured, right now, we're not what each other has to worry about."

* * *

 

It was almost ten o'clock at night by the time Avalon got home. The Cranston house was dark and there didn't' appear to be anyone awake. Avalon tiptoed through the foyer and to the staircase that poked out to the left. Careful to not step down onto the creaky stair, Avalon crept to her room, maneuvering along the shadows, blending in, using it as a cover by means of her dark attire. She slipped into her room and stumbled around in the dark. Hearing a thumping sound, she froze.

"Avalon?" Relaxing, Avalon turned and watched as her sister sat up in her bed, rubbing an eye with her hand. Avalon walked over to Bailey's bed and sat down beside her. "You're back."

"Yeah, Bailey, I am." Avalon lay down beside her sister. She reached out and gently tweaked the technical advisor's nose. "What are you doing awake?"

"Waiting for you to get back," Bailey replied. She dropped her head onto her pillow and looked directly at her sister. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Bay," Avalon promised with a warm smile. At least Bailey was always on her side, no matter what she did. She reached out and fluffed Bailey's pillows before making sure she was completely tucked in. "Go to sleep, you have school tomorrow."

"So do you." Bailey's voice was insistent, like she was trying her hardest to prove she wasn't tired. It was one of the few times in recent years Avalon had seen her act her age.

"Yeah, but I'm graduating soon. It's more important for you." Avalon ran a hand through her hair. Bailey followed the movement with her eyes before copying her. A serious expression fell over Avalon's face, actively captivating Bailey's attention. "You're twelve, you still have a lot of school left in you and you still need to get your sleep." Avalon reached down and pulled the blankets up over her sister.

Bailey huffed, and rolled onto her side, closing her eyes. Avalon ruffled her hair before moving to leave the room. Slipping outside, she heard the sound of footsteps below and crept downstairs, finding Billy closing the garage door behind him. When he turned and saw Avalon walking down the stairs he stopped and watched her. She could see relief in his eyes before the look changed. Avalon didn't like the way he was looking at her. It was as if he was watching her, waiting to see if would strike. It was different from the way they normally looked at each other, with friendship and understanding. The two continued to watch each other for a long moment until Avalon decided to break the thick silence.

"Were you waiting for me?" She asked.

Billy looked like he didn't want to answer, and then nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed. "I was waiting to see when you'd get home." He scratched his arm. "That and I was working on some stuff." He pointed over his shoulder. "I haven't made a lot of progress, but it's going well, I suppose." He stood on the balls of his feet, putting his hands into his jeans pockets. Avalon smiled a little, recognizing his normal, relaxed stance. His relaxed body didn't match up to the cool stare he was giving her. "Everyone was worried about you today."

Avalon snorted. "I don't think they're worried more than wondering how much longer I'm going to be around."

Billy frowned, his mouth puckering. "You have to give yourself more credit than that, Av. You have to give us more credit. We understand that what you're going through is really hard, but we really are here for you. Jason made that decision…you have to realize that your actions affect other people and going in and doing things on your own, it's not the best way to do things."

"Why does everyone have to lecture me?" She grumbled then placed a hand on her forehead. Dropping her hand, she tilted her head to the side. "You may be smart; Smurf, but you don't know everything."

Billy blinked at her for a moment, hurt registering in his eyes. Then he regarded her with warmth. "You're right," he admitted.

"Really?" Avalon's eyebrow rose. That completely caught her off guard. She didn't know Billy to be one that would engage in confrontation, but she hadn't though he would agree with her. Anything but that. "I'm right? Compared to you?" She started to look around. "Is the sky falling?"

"I don't understand," Billy continued. Avalon looked at him in confusion and he walked closer to her, lowering his voice. "I may be smart, but there are a lot of things that I don't know. I don't know what it's like to be as athletic as Tommy, Zack, or Jason. I don't know what it's like to be as outgoing as Kimberly or Trini. I don't know what it's like to be a sibling to someone like you and Bailey and your relationship with each other. And I don't know what you're going through, but I'm willing to understand it if you let me and the others in. We can't help you when you're always doing things on your own, and the more you do that, the less we'll be able to help you."

Avalon's shoulders slumped though she still held an air of defiance. "Which is what Jason was trying to show me." She set her jaw. "God, I hate it when I'm wrong." Billy chuckled at her outburst. His eyes briefly moved to the stairs before looking at her again.

"Everyone has to be wrong sometimes," Billy reminded her. He gently nudged her shoulder. "Even me."

"Shocker," Avalon teased. Billy smiled. Avalon looked up at Billy through her fringe. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"I accept your apology," Billy said. "But it's not only me that you have to talk to."

* * *

 

"Jason? Could you see who's at the door, sweetie?" Marissa Scott called from the kitchen. "I'm washing the dishes and my hands are all soapy."

"Sure thing, Mom," Jason called back. He muted the TV, the excited screams from the announcer reporting on a basketball game suddenly cutting out. He rolled off the couch, pushing away his homework. Getting to his feet he could hear the sound of someone rapidly knocking on the front door. It stopped for a moment then the knocking started again. _I wonder what's up._ He realized it couldn't be that important if it was a monster or putty attack, his communicator would have gone off. Jason opened his stride and grabbed onto the doorknob, twisting it and pulling it open.

When Jason opened the door he looked surprised for a moment, recognizing Avalon standing on the front porch. She had her back to his, looking up and down the street whirling around when she heard the door open behind her. She gave a quick smile, raising and lowering her hand. "Av! Come in." Jason opened the door wider and allowed Avalon to step inside. She looked around the hallway, taking in pictures of Jason and his family as he was growing up. He closed the door behind her. "What are you doing here? It's kind of late, isn't it?"

"I didn't notice," Avalon said absentmindedly.

There was a brief silence between the two. Jason cleared his throat. "Well, listen, while you're here, I just wanted to apologize for what I said earlier," Jason said. He scratched the back of his neck. "It was out of line and—"

"You were right," Avalon interrupted. Jason fell silent, waiting for her to continue. His eyebrows lowered. "About everything." She shook her head, and then chuckled. "It's my bad habit, really. I guess I'm just used to it." She took a deep breath. "And…I was a jerk to you and the rest of the rangers." The rapidness of her speech started to increase and Jason did his best to keep up. "You've told me again and again that working on a team is the best thing for us and I'm really trying. I really am glad that I have friends like you to help me out whenever I muck up and as you can tell, I muck up a lot."

Jason studied her face. Her eyes were shifting back and forth every few seconds, unable to keep a steady focus on something. Or unwilling to. He wasn't sure. He could tell that her adrenaline was running, though, from the way her pupils were pin points and she was breathing heavily. "Did you run all the way here or something? Do you want to sit down or something?"

"No." Avalon shook her head. She ran a hand through her hair. "I just need to say this." She placed a hand on her chest. "I'm not used to having people around to help me and really meant it. Chase and them, we work as a team, we all help each other, but the bottom line is that it's every man for themselves. And with you guys…I know I'm a jerk to you guys sometimes. I know that, I get it. I keep bringing you lot closer and then pushing you away whenever I get scared that you all are getting too close. And…that's not fair. I know. But…I'm so used to be abandoned, being left behind, that I'm just waiting for the time that you all are going to do that. And when it gets to that point I keep forgetting how much you guys have done for me. You keep giving me chances; Kim wasn't mad over her necklace, Billy and his parents let me stay at their house, Tommy looks after Bay when I'm gone, Zack makes me laugh, and Kim and Trini are the best girl friends I've ever had and I keep screwing that up.

"The fact that my Mum and Dad are gone…it hurts more than I thought. I'm tired of being left, I'm tired of…everyone leaving me, so I try not to get close. But you….and Billy…and Trini, and Zack, and Kim, and Tommy keep proving that to me and I keep thinking you're all lying or something."

She reached up and scratched her forehead, hiding her face so she could look at Jason properly. He looked confused and a little overwhelmed and she didn't blame him. Hanging out with Chase and them again…she was sure she didn't want to have much to do with them anymore and was going to do her hardest to make sure she could get out and to keep her friends from danger. After hanging out with them that night, acting like she wanted to be there, she really did understand what it meant to be a part of the power rangers and for them to have her back unconditionally. If that meant she would risk her life to get out, she would. She needed to get it all out, or else she would explode and now that she finally revealed everything that she had never said before she felt…better.

A lot better.

"Av, it's ok." Jason stepped closer to her, looking down at her. He reached out and pushed some of her hair from her face before resting his hand on her shoulder, his thumb on her neck. "Really. We know this can't be easy for you. We're just concerned and when you keep shutting us out, it makes it even harder for us to help you."

"I know." Avalon let out a deep breath then gave a small smile. "You're always worrying about me," she said.

"I can't help it," Jason replied honestly.

Avalon stood up on her tiptoes, grabbed the sides of Jason's face, and kissed him.


	32. All To Blame

**Chapter 32**

_All the Blame_

"Jason, who's at the door, sweetie?"

Jason broke the kiss, quickly backing away from Avalon. She removed her hands from his face and took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest. Jason moved his arm across his mouth before turning in the direction of his mother's voice, praying it wasn't getting closer. "It's just Avalon, Mom," he replied. "Everything's ok."

"Oh, well, does she want to stay and have something to eat?" Mrs. Scott called. The red and orange rangers could hear the sound of the water turning off before the sounds of Mrs. Scott's footsteps headed their way. "It wouldn't be a problem. There are some leftovers from dinner that she can have."

"No worries, Mrs. Scott," Avalon called back. She started to back away towards the door. "I've got to get going, anyway." She glanced at Jason for a moment before turning on her heel and heading towards the door.

Jason reached out and grabbed onto her arm, stopping her. His eyes shifted back and forth for a moment as Avalon faced him. He licked his lips, wondering what to say. He thought about the conversation he had with Zack, before Chase had arrived at their school, before Rita had been smart enough to send putties down to attack them at school. Before everything started to, finally, get better for Avalon and Bailey.

_"Are you sure that's the same tattoo?" Zack seemed to be trying his hardest to come up with any other explanation for it. "I mean, how many people in the world have a 'V' tattooed on them. It can stand for virtually anything."_

_"I know," Jason agreed. "But his tattoo was freaking sitting on his neck. And it's huge and looks exactly the same, that can't be a coincidence." He crossed his arms over his chest. "They seemed to be acting pretty suspicious." He scratched the back of his neck. "And…we've seen him hanging around Av before." Jason started to rub his neck, turning away from Zack his eyes shifting back and forth. He wasn't entirely sure of that, but he had a feeling. "I don't know; I have a feeling that something is wrong…"_

_"Getting a little protective?" Zack grinned._

_Jason rolled his eyes, turning back to the black ranger. "I'm protective of all my friends, Zack. It's just something that Av has said before." He lifted his thumb to scratch his forehead before crossing his arms. "When Kim and I went to her apartment that one time, she had this massive bruise on her face. I didn't say before, but I had seen it earlier when we were having movie night at Trini's house that one time."_

_"That was ages ago, Jase," Zack pointed out._

_"I know."_

_"So why did you wait so long to say something?"_

_"I didn't think it was my business," Jason admitted. He paused. "But, not I think it is. When I asked her about it, she said that she deserved to get hit." He pointed his chin over in the direction that Chase, Skye, and Summer had just disappeared around. "I thought it was weird, but now it kind of makes sense…do you think he's dating her?"_

_It took Zack a moment to understand what Jason was implying before Zack's eyes widened. "You think he's hitting her?"_

_"I don't know for sure," Jason said quickly. "It's just a thought. And you have to admit that it makes sense as to why she acts so weird about everything at home. I mean, we don't really know anything about her other than she's from Australia, she just transferred to Angel Grove, their parents are busy, she keeps running off at a moment's notice to do whatever and…apparently she has singing stage-fright ." He reached out and poked Zack in the chest. "I knew more about you in the first ten minutes of meeting you and that's because you never stopped talking."_

_Zack gave a sarcastic laugh, pushing Jason's hands away. "I think you're overreacting, man."_

_"I hope I am."_

While he had been proven wrong, he couldn't help but worry. When Chase arrived at school, calling Avalon out into the hallway, he couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. And after that he did nothing but put pressure on her, trying to show her what it was like to be a team player, trying to get her to join one of his martial arts classes so she wasn't as much of a wild fighter—she had gone once and that didn't end well—and throughout all of that, he had continued to see her a member of the team that needed to adjust.

Jason looked at Avalon and she continued to stand in front him, her eyebrow rose and a look of impatience on her face. What did she expect him to do? Kiss her again? Or say something. As the seconds continued to stretch out between them, giving Jason a few more moments to think about what he wanted to do. He thought about the kiss they had just shared. It wasn't a particularly long one and he had been stunned by it. No, blindsided was the better word, he decided. He hadn't known she felt that way about him and still, honestly, wasn't sure if that truly _was_ the way she felt.

Thinking about it now, it wasn't awkward. It was actually kind of nice; however, there didn't seem to be anything behind it. For him anyway. Something hadn't felt entirely right about it. This was the girl that got on his nerves and appeared to do it on purpose, form the way her eyes sparkled mischievously each time he rolled his eyes or managed a lame comeback. She rounded out the other rangers and blended in with them so well…he wouldn't want to risk that.

"I have a feeling I know what you're going to say," Avalon said slowly.

Jason gently shook his head before reaching up, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

Avalon's eyebrow hiked up even higher. "About what?" She asked and let out a slight chuckle, though Jason could hear the dark undertone. "I'm the one that should be sorry, right? I mean, I'm the one that practically attacked you. All day, really. What with my long winded rant and everything." She held up a hand. "Really. It's my bad. I just got caught up in the moment, or whatever."

Jason nodded, falling silent once more. "It's not like we're not friends," he said slowly. Avalon shrugged, turning her gaze towards the floor. "But to be perfectly honest, I don't think you even have feelings for me." Avalon continued to look at the floor. "It's like you said…you're tired of people leaving you…I think you just got caught up in the attention I've been giving you."

Avalon made a snorting sound then glared at him. "You think I only like your attention?" She snapped. "Newsflash, boofhead, I _never_ asked for your help with anything! You just stuck your big, shiny nose in it!"

Jason looked at her evenly. "You just thanked me for that," he reminded her.

Avalon looked startled for a moment, then her glare dropped and she shook her head. "I did it again, didn't I?" She asked. Jason gave her a half smile. "I'm working on it," she defended herself.

"I know," Jason replied. "You lasted about a minute and a half that time."

"Ooh for once you actually have a comeback," Avalon said.

"It was bound to happen at some point."

Avalon nodded then turned away from Jason, he could see the hurt in her eyes. He hadn't wanted to hurt her, but…at the same time he knew it was better for her to know the truth rather than lead her on. She was just like a sister to him, a little sister. And he enjoyed her company. And it wasn't like he hadn't enjoyed the kiss, it just didn't feel right.

"I'll see you later," Avalon said. She thought about threatening Jason into making sure he didn't mention what happened to anyone else, but decided against it. It probably would have made things that much worse.

She slipped out the door and walked back to the Cranston house. Once inside she kicked off her shoes and left them neatly by the front door, then locked the door behind her. She double-checked to be sure it was completely bolted shut. She couldn't be too careful.

A glowing light caught her attention and she followed it into the garage. Opening the door, Avalon sighed when she spotted Billy leaning over his work bench, glasses pushed up his forehead, arms resting on top of his computer keyboard. The computer was still on, casting a light blue glow around the room. Avalon looked around the garage before walking over to the chest that sat in the corner of the garage. She picked up the blanket that lay on top and unfolded it. Walking back over to Billy she draped it over his shoulders then pulled off his glasses, placing them on the desk beside him.

Avalon then left the garage and went up to hers and Bailey's room. She changed into her pajamas and climbed into her bed.

"Av?" She heard Bailey's voice.

Avalon propped herself up on the palm of her hand. "Why don't you ever listen to me when I tell you to go to sleep?"

"Your fat feet woke me up," Bailey replied. She yawned. "Is everything OK?"

"Yeah," Avalon said slowly. She ran a hand through her hair. "I've just come to the realization that you and I have a lot more in common than I originally thought." She chuckled a little. "We both tend to like people that don't feel the same way. I guess it's a Mitchell curse."

"Or the sad thing about growing up," Bailey added.

"It's probably that one," Avalon agreed. "I mean, you're the smart one, right?"

"And don't you forget it!"

Avalon and Bailey giggled before pulling up their blankets and going to sleep.

* * *

 

"What other experiments can you put me through that Billy hasn't?" Avalon asked as she and Bailey walked back from the library.

They hadn't been successful in finding what Bailey was looking for, but she didn't appear to want to give up. Bailey had planned to go with Billy so the two of them could try and figure out what the originals of Avalon's powers were, what the organics of it were and how it latched to her DNA, but at the last minute had been called to the school to help the Science Club with the project they were working on for a competition being held later in the year. "Do you need my spit too? Or are my toe nails fine."

"I don't want your nasty toes in my face, boofhead," Bailey said. Her freckled nose wrinkled, causing her glasses to slip down her face. She quickly pushed them back up. "I may need a hair sample." Placing her hands on her hips, she tilted her head back towards her sister, looking thoughtful. "I mean anything that would give the best DNA and I think the keratin may be a good link there. Of course, not knowing the complete origin of it other than the fact that you say you remember being shined by a bright flash of light, it really just makes me draw a blank."

"Like that's any different," Avalon murmured.

Avalon smirked as Bailey reached out and smacked her sister on the arm. Avalon opened her stride as they continued down the sidewalk, her mind wandering. Her sister had brought up a good point, something she hadn't thought about for a while. Why is it that all she could remember was a bright flash of light? Had something happened when her father had set off that flash? What was he really working on anyway? He had seemed startled when she had walked into the garage all those years ago. Of course that just reminded her how angry she was that he hadn't even tried to find them after they had left Australia. Who sends their kids off to a relative and never speaks to them again? Even when she was young she had noticed that Captain Mitchell had been a bit of a flake, forgetting to pick them up from something, always running late, short tempered with something on the news, wouldn't let anyone in his office if he wasn't there.

But there were the other times when he had been a great father to her and Bailey. He was ecstatic when Bailey was born and treated the two of them like his little princesses. What changed?

"Maybe he knew about power rangers," Avalon suddenly said out loud.

"Av, that's ridiculous!" Bailey cried.

"Yeah, well-"Avalon's communicator went off and she sighed as she put her wrist up to her mouth. Bailey huddled close to Avalon's side, looking around their surroundings. It didn't look like they were being watched. But who knew what would happen if they ever let their guard down. "What's going on?" She asked.

"Jason's hurt," Zack's voice came out of the communicator. Avalon and Bailey froze, looking at each other. What could have happened? There didn't seem to be any monster attacks or else they would have heard about it. And Jason was a skilled martial artist; they always saw him practicing, even if he wasn't teaching a class. What could have happened for him to get hurt?

Bailey grabbed onto Avalon's wrist and pulled it down to her mouth. Bailey could feel Avalon's muscles tighten as she tried to pull her arm back. "W-what happened?" Bailey stammered.

"We don't know the whole story yet," Zack said. He sounded tired, if not anxious. It was hard to tell over the communicator sometimes. Avalon's hands started to shake as he waited for the rest of what Zack's news, "From what I can understand he got jumped. He did his best…but there were just too many of them. He's at the hospital now; we're on our way there."

"Got it," Avalon said before lowering her arm. She turned to Bailey, her eyes wide. Bailey slowly turned back to look at her. Her eyes searched Avalon's, looking for some sort of answer to her unasked question. Avalon slowly shook her head before bringing her hands up to her hair and gripping handfuls of it. She started to pace back and forth, her breaths coming out in rapid succession.

Bailey raised a hand up to her mouth and started on her fingernails. She had an idea what happened as soon as Avalon's eyes widened. It made the most sense. Who else was sadistic enough to hurt someone badly enough to get put into a hospital? Chase, of course. Who else would have wanted to hurt one of the more well known teenagers in Angel Grove? Even before she and her sister had met the rangers, Bailey and Avalon had seen their names in the newspaper countless times due to the organizations they ran, the clubs they were part of, and the awards that they achieved.

"Av, what did you do?" Bailey asked in a choked whisper. She could barely get the words out of her mouth, around the thick lump in her throat.

"It wasn't me, Bay!" Avalon snapped at her. She continued to pace back and forth in a tight circle. One glance at Bailey's face and she could see the hurt in her eyes. She hadn't meant to snap at her, but what was she supposed to do? She had just been accused of doing something she didn't do. Something she wouldn't actively think of doing no matter how much she would be paid for it. Avalon shook her head, eyes flashing with anger. "But I have an idea of who did." She turned to Bailey. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this and they're going to pay for what they did."

Bailey nodded in agreement. "But before you get sent to jail, let's go see Jase."

Avalon nodded and grabbed onto Bailey's hand. The two turned and started to walk to the hospital.

Once they arrived, Avalon watched as doctors walked back and forth in front of her. She raised a hand up to her mouth and started to lightly chew on her thumbnail. She got up from her chair and started to walk towards the room, but then stopped and went back, sitting down again. She clasped her hands in together in front of her and rested her forehead on her arms, trying not to bring any more attention to herself. She already had the attention of the young receptionist; she had been looking at Avalon funny ever since she had arrived at the hospital a little over an hour ago.

 _Maybe she recognizes me?_ Avalon wondered. _Maybe they've seen me around with Chase and them._ She shook the thought from her head. If that were the case, then she had more problems other than trying to talk herself into going to Jason's hospital room to see how he was. He was going to be released that day, there was nothing seriously wrong with him, just a lot of bruising. But she had seen it in his face…the suspicion and the wonder. She knew that he had an idea of what was going on, but not the full idea. She hadn't been as careful as she could have been and it was not starting to come back and bite her in the ass.

Avalon moved her hands over her face and took a couple of deep breaths. There were a few things that she could do at this point. She could go in and demand to know everything that he knew; she could act like nothing was going on and hope that things would get better, or she should do the same thing that she and Bailey always did and run away.

Run away from everything.

Run away from all of their problems.

Avalon let out a deep sigh as she stood up, shouldering her backpack. She turned on her heel and walked out of the hospital. She was annoyed at herself, and at the guilt that she was feeling. She usually didn't feel a whole lot of guilt over the things that she did, it was there for a second and then went away. The thought of what she was doing was quickly replaced with the thought that she was helping Bailey and she felt better. But now…there was nothing but guilt and she hated it. There're many side effects that come along with doing something wrong.

Feeling sick, that feeling of regret…

She tried to ignore it, but it did nothing but continue to get stronger the more she did it and she knew that it was coming from the fact that she was a ranger now. There was nothing bigger than the oxymoronic position she put herself in; trying to keep Angel Grove safe, and then going around and stealing form it.

The feelings were starting to get too hard to ignore.

The first time that she had felt guilt that bad…it was when she didn't even deserve it. It was a few days after she and Bailey had moved into the apartment with that quick story that their parents were going to be coming in later and that they wanted the girls to start setting up the apartment. That was the day they moved in, one quick story and no questions were asked. But then the memories of losing both of their parents started to strike her, it made her feel that she could have done something to prevent it but didn't.

And now, thanks to her, someone innocent was in the hospital.

She just couldn't win.

It was all her fault and she knew it.

* * *

 

Jason could hear someone calling his name. He tried to open his eyes, but his lids fell closed together as soon as they cracked open an inch. After a few seconds he opened his eyes once more, focusing on the ceiling. His eye was a bit swollen, no matter how wide he opened his right eye, he couldn't see everything. His shoulders and back hurt, his ribs killed. That's where he had been hit the most. He was sure he had a few broken ribs if not being badly bruised. His left arm was in bandages at the wrist. Otherwise, he felt OK. He had definitely been hurt worse through Rita's and Zedd's monsters.

Closing his eyes once more, Jason remembered the way he had been punched, kicked, and thrown around. He did his best to fight his attackers off, remembering how each of the blows on his body was more of a warning than to cause physical damage. He just hoped he had been able to recognize who had been on him. His attackers hadn't spoken a word since he had been thrown to the ground, there were so many he couldn't get a good look at them and they played dirty.

"Hey Jase, how are you doing, man?"

Zack's voice caused Jason to open his eyes fully. Slowly sitting up, he smiled, at his friends. Zack grinned as he crossed his arms over his chest. No matter how hurt his friends were, his first instinct was to try and make them laugh, anything to make them feel better about their situation. "How long are you gonna be in here?"

Avalon bit her lower lip as she waited for Jason's response. Her eyes kept darting from Jason to Zack, Trini, Kimberly, Tommy, and Billy and then back to Jason again. Her grip tightened on Bailey's shoulders, the tips of her fingers digging in between Bailey's bones. If she was in pain, Bailey did her best not to show it. Instead, she reached up and placed a hand on top of her sister's squeezing it gently.

"Just overnight, hopefully," Jason replied. He leaned forward, trying to prop up the pillows that were behind him, but it didn't move. Kimberly gave him a small smile before leaning forward and pulling his pillows up for him, even going so far as to fluffing them. Jason smiled back at her, letting out a sigh, sinking into the pillows. "The doctors said that I was hit in the head a lot, so they're just monitoring how I do overnight before they make any decisions." He shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "But I'm fine, guys, don't worry."

"Too late," Trini said softly. She was sitting next to the bed, holding onto his hand. Billy stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders. She leaned forward in earnest. "Do you remember anything that happened? Anything at all?"

"Yeah, do you know who did this?" Kimberly brushed her hair behind her ears. She exchanged glances with Tommy.

"Maybe we can call the police or something?" Tommy suggested. "There has to be something that'll help catch those guys."

"The police would probably just chalk it up to gang violence and that he was a random passerby that was caught up in it," Avalon said with a sigh. "With little to go off of, it'd be hard for them to find out specifically, who it was." She pulled her long hair over her shoulders before looking at everyone in the room. A light sheen of sweat had appeared on her forehead and her lips were twitching slightly. "I-I mean, there's a lot of gang violence in Angel Grove, we all know that, but not many people would talk about it because they don't want to scare people." She shrugged. "Angel Grove is a pretty safe place; no one wants that ideal image to be broken."

"Av's right," Bailey spoke up. She twisted her fingers together as she mustered up the most convincing smile she possibly could. "They probably just jumped you for your money."

"Do you think it was Chase?" Tommy asked the orange ranger. She glanced at him. "Do you think he'd have anything to do with this? I mean, by now he knows that you might have talked to the police or something."

"I doubt it," Avalon said as convincingly as she could. "He's not dumb enough to rob someone in broad daylight. The Vipers usually only operate at night."

She didn't completely believe what she was saying. There was a very good chance it was Chase that had jumped him. But what would have been his reason for it? Just because she was still hanging out with him? She knew Chase and while he could be considered psychotic at times, he wasn't one that would put his name in the light like that. It would have been too obvious. If it was her guess, it would have been Skye if not a High-Flyers. Anyway to keep Chase's name out of anyone's mouth, even at the expense of his own gang member, he would keep the blame off him.

She gave an apologetic smile and fell silent.

"Either way it sucks," Zack said. He changed the subject, hoping Avalon didn't blame herself. No one could have seen any of this coming. He clenched his hands into fists before lifting a hand and smacking a fist into his palm. "If I found out who did it, they're going to get a piece of my mind."

"That's not a very commendable idea," Billy protested, his lips wilted in a frown. "Going by yourself…you could get hurt worse. And if they really are as dangerous as Avalon and Bailey say, then either way, it wouldn't be a good idea to confront them at all."

"Billy's right," Trini agreed. "It's probably better to just leave things as they are."

"Not unless you want to jump every person wearing purple for the rest of your lives," Jason said. He managed a small smile. "Don't worry about me, guys; things are going to be fine." He looked at the clock on the wall behind them. "Wow, it's getting pretty late; I didn't realize that I was here this long." He winced as he tried to sit up all the way.

"Don't strain yourself," Kimberly reached out and pushed him back down. "It'll just make your injuries worse."

"I don't think anything can be worse than the way his face looks," Zack said. He and Avalon laughed. Kimberly rolled her eyes as Trini smiled. Billy and Tommy exchanged amused glances. Zack's laughter faded and he reached out, lightly hitting Jason on the shoulder. "Sorry, man, I was just trying to make you laugh."

"Next time bring him a card," Tommy pointed out.

A light laugh went around the room. Then there was a brief moment of silence. There was actually some tension in the air. Avalon just kept her hands on Bailey's shoulders, her gaze down at her feet. She had only spoken once the whole time they had been there, and that had been about the gang activity that had been going around. If that didn't put a huge neon sign on her forehead saying 'I'm guilty' than nothing else would. Even Bailey seemed to be picking up on her anxiety; she continued to twist her fingers as she looked at Jason.

Trini looked over at Bailey as she made a squeaking sound. Her shoulders were hunched up to her ears, and one of her eyes was closed. Avalon's hands were gripped so tight into Bailey's shoulders that there were little indents in the fabric of her clothes, where Avalon's fingers were. "Are you ok, Bailey? Is something wrong?"

"She's fine!" Avalon quipped, her eyes widening slightly. She gave a trembling laugh, pushing her hair over her shoulders. "She's just...kinda sleepy. She needs some zeds. I should be getting her home, if she's gonna help us with our weapons and whatever, she can't say up too late." Avalon grabbed Bailey's shoulders and forcibly turned her around. "Later." The two quickly moved to the hospital door.

"Hey!"

At Jason's voice, the two turned around. Jason gave Avalon a knowing smile. "Thanks for coming to visit."

Avalon rolled her eyes before smirking at him. "No problem, Jason."


	33. Revelations

**Chapter 33**

_Revelations_

Zack tossed a football up and down in his hands a few times before throwing it over to his father, who stood on the grass across from him. Mr. Taylor caught the ball with a quick leap straight up into the air. He grinned, throwing the ball back over to the black ranger, who barely had to break a sweat to catch it himself. It was natural talent, he had always been athletic, and always on the move doing whatever it was that interested him— with dancing being the forefront. It's not to say that he didn't like football, or that he was particularly unhappy that he got on the team with his best friends, it was just that his father couldn't seem to understand that dancing was what he really wanted to do with his life.

Sure, it may be harder than he anticipated, it may not pay much, but he preferred to be happy than to worry about working nine-to-five in a field he wasn't happy with.

Mr. Taylor turned and threw the football back to Zack, frowning when Zack stumbled backwards, having to reach up and catch the ball over his head. "No! Zack, you know that the best thing to do is make a decision as soon as the ball leaves the quarter back's hands!" Zack let out a sigh, nodding as he brought the football down to his chest. "As soon as you saw that the ball was arching high, you should have either decided to jump and catch, or to run back and cradle it against your chest. That way you would have a better opportunity to get around the offensive side and run to the end zone."

"Sorry, Dad, I guess I have a lot on my mind," Zack apologized. He shrugged, spinning the ball in his hands. "I mean, we have a game coming up soon and school work has really been getting me down and there are the clubs and activities…I guess I'm just starting to get a little overwhelmed."

"You're going to have to work through that, Zack," Mr. Taylor said, a hint of compassion in his voice. "I know things are hard, especially with the future looming ahead of you, it's coming a lot sooner than you'd think."

Zack nodded. _If I have a future,_ he thought. That was something he couldn't exactly count on. Not when there were constant monster attacks. Who knew when there was going to be a time where there was a monster so strong that the power rangers would be defeated. Even now that Avalon, Billy, and Trini were all able to use elemental powers, and even though Avalon had the power of two rangers, the monsters were getting progressively more difficult. Add in the fact that they were starting to become bogged down with school work, everyone was getting to the point where they were running ragged.

How much longer where they going to fight until they saw the ultimate win? At this point it seemed they would be in college with the rate they were going. Each time they had a step forward, they had a large step back. Even getting the power of the Thunderzord, defeating the monster of the day, didn't' bring that much of a light on the horizon.

"Just relax," Mr. Taylor added, grabbing his son's attention. "The best you can do at a time like this is to relax and get your priorities straight. Of course schoolwork comes first, but you have to remember that there are times where you need to make decisions for yourself and not for others."

 _How ironic,_ Zack tried not to laugh out loud. He was supposed to make a decision for himself? How was that possible when his father was making him give up his dream for a sport that he may or may not excel in? And if that were the case, honestly, he may have given up being a power ranger ages ago. "You're right Dad," Zack finally agreed. "Thanks." He grinned to himself, back up a few paces. He slapped his hand against the ball and shot his arm forward, rocketing the pigskin through the air.

He watched as it spiraled and slammed into his father's chest, knocking him onto the ground on his back on the ground. Zack brought a hand up to cover his mouth, wincing as he watched his father hit the ground. It was kind of funny; it actually proved Billy's theory. The longer they were rangers, the longer their DNA continued to course with 'the power' that had chosen them in the first place, the stronger they became.

"Sorry," Zack called before jogging over to his father. He reached down and grabbed onto Mr. Taylor's hand, pulling him up.

Mr. Taylor grinned and thumped his son on the back. "Don't apologize, Zack. That was a great throw; you might even give your father a run for his money." He laughed, grabbing onto Zack's shoulder and gently shaking him. "You're going to do great, I know you are."

"Thanks Dad," Zack said with a smile. He sighed; watching as Mr. Taylor took the football and went inside, saying he was going to help his mother with dinner, which was codeword to hiding in his office to keep from having to get stuck doing the dishes later. Zack continued to spin the football in his hands, watching as it arched up towards the empurpled sky.

He could already see some of the stars starting to appear against the colorful sky. The bright blue molding down into the pinks and purples that appeared over the horizon as the sun slowly started to set. It was the first time in a while he was able to sit back and just relax. He groaned when his communicator went off.

Spoke too soon.

Zack looked around before dropping the football to the ground and bringing his communicator up to his mouth. "What's up, Zordon?"

"We need you and the other rangers at the command center immediately, there's something very urgent that Alpha and I need to discuss with you all."

"No problem." Zack lowered his arm and darted inside. He followed the sound of clattering plates and silverware to the kitchen and leaned around the corner. "Hey Mom, there's something I forgot to do, I'll be back later." Before his mother could reply, he popped back around the corner and quickly headed out the front door once more. Sliding around the side of his house, he looked around then teleported to the Command Center.

Once Zack's feet were firmly placed on the ground, he turned around to find Tommy, Kimberly, Jason, Billy, and Trini already there, waiting patiently, though they looked a little confused as well. What was it that Alpha and Zordon could have wanted? They usually never had to be in the Command Center after late afternoon. Rita seemed to need beauty sleep as much as anyone on earth so she gave the rangers a break every night.

"Hey guys," Zack greeted them all with a grin. "If I knew we were going to be having a party, I would have brought some balloons or something." His eyes moved around the brightly colored Command Center. "Something to spruce this place up a bit."

Trini laughed. "We'll keep that in mind, next time, Zack," she said to him.

"Does anyone know what we were brought here for?" Kimberly added. She reached her hands up and flipped her wet hair over her shoulder, leaning over to squeeze water onto the ground. "I was in the middle of a very important hair washing ritual. If I don't get back in the next half hour or so, all of it will go to waste."

"Don't worry Kimberly, this shouldn't take long," Alpha reassured her. He reached out to touch her shoulder, and then let out a little shriek as he was electrocuted. Light blue sparks covered his body as he spun around in circles, letting out little cries.

"Oh no!" Kimberly brought her hands up to her mouth, eyes widening in shock. "Alpha, I'm so sorry."

"Nice going Kim," Jason teased her. "I told you that excessively caring about your looks was going to kill someone." Tommy laughed, gently nudging the red ranger's shoulder with his own. Kimberly whipped her head around and glared at her boyfriend, causing him to immediately fall silent.

"Don't worry about it Kim," Billy reassured her. He walked over to Alpha, being careful of the sparks that were still racking through the robot, and pulled a disc from his back. Alpha's light shut down and the top half of his body bent forward. "I just have to make sure that his program is running well and then I can replace it. He's been through a lot of things before, I'm sure a little bit of water didn't do much damage."

"Let's ask him that once he gets back to normal," Jason continued. He let out a cry of pain, still smiling when Kimberly now slapped him on the arm. The rangers turned as there was the sound of someone teleporting into the command center and a cry of pain.

Zack turned around to see Avalon fall flat on her face, arms outstretched in front of her. Bailey, who was standing by her side, looked down at her, shaking her head, although she was laughing. Avalon groaned as she lifted her head, pushing herself back onto her knees.

"Yeah, it took a long time for us to get used to the sudden teleportations," Zack's said from above her. Avalon scowled at Zack's jovial smile. "But we usually had some other cushions to land on." He reached out a hand towards her.

"Bite me!" Avalon snapped, grabbing his hand and allowed herself to get pulled to her feet. She turned to Zordon, swiping her hair off her forehead. "Next time you want to teleport me here; make sure I'm not running at warp speed first, yeah?"

"I'm sorry Avalon, but this is an important matter that we need to discuss," Zordon said apologetically. He had a bit of an amused smile on his face.

Bailey's eyebrows rose as she took a step forward. "Does this have to do with what I think it does?" She asked. Zordon nodded down at her. "Then it's about time!" She walked away from the group, who now looked more confused than ever, disappearing into the hidden room at the right side of the Command Center.

"There we go!" Billy cried after a second. He took a step back as Alpha came back to life. "How are you feeling Alpha?"

"Like I just had all of my joints replaced with new ones," Alpha replied. He moved his arms and legs to show his quick movements. "Better than I have in a while, thank you, Billy."

Billy laughed, his eyes lighting up. "If anything, I think you should be thanking Kimberly, she's the ones that gave you that jolt."

"That makes sense," Avalon commented, giving the pink ranger a once over. "I thought she was just trying to make the drowned rat look 'in' now." She paused. "Newsflash, it's not working for you." The rangers laugh as Kimberly stuck her tongue out at the orange ranger.

"Now that we're all here, Alpha and I have to explain some things," Zordon said, gathering everyone's attention. The rangers all stood together, looking up at their mentor with rapt interest. "We know that with the monsters you have been facing recently, there have been moments where you were victorious and moments where things were harder than you could ever imagine."

"You got that right," Tommy agreed. He shook his head, his long ponytail flopping over his shoulder. "Rita and Zedd are really doing their best to work us lately. It just makes me wonder which monster they're leaving for last; they always get stronger each one we defeat."

"That's what we wanted to talk to you about," Alpha said. He looked over at Zordon and then back to the rangers. "Each and every time we've needed some help we have gotten it. With Tommy being the green then white ranger you all have been done a great job with everything that's been thrown your way."

"When you pilot new zords or face new enemies you all have continued to work well together," Zordon continued. He paused for a moment, looking each ranger in the eye. "However, we believe, soon, there will be a time that you may need some more help than you've already have."

Billy frowned. "You don't think the powers we've gotten from the Power Cube are going to make a difference?" He ran a hand over his mouth. "Avalon, Trini, and I do have the power so far, but what about when the others get theirs as well? Having all of that extra power on our side, along with the fact that we can use it to power up our zords as well, we should be able to have the upper hand on Rita and Zedd."

"Yes, but like what you rangers have done, adapt to each monster that comes your way, Rita and Zedd have been adapting to what you've been doing to them ever since you all got together," Zordon continued. He took a breath. "And with that in mind, we thought that it was finally time to reveal to you guys, the Ankylosaurus power coin."

The rangers all looked at each other. Zack gulped loudly, exchanging a glance with Billy. _Another_ one? Having Avalon join the group was a bit of a whirlwind at first, she had literally come out of nowhere to add along to them. In fact, Zack had seen her around school for about a month before he and the other rangers had really started to notice her. Even then, their first interactions hadn't been that great and next thing they knew, she was leaping into battle to save her sister and their asses after they had been knocked around by the Savage Sardine. Things had ended up working out with that ranger, would they be the same with this new one?

Trini must have had the same thought as she was the first one to speak up. "Do we really need another one?" She chewed the bottom of her lip. "I know there's strength in numbers, but how are we supposed to bring someone new into this?"

"And it could be anyone," Kimberly added. She snorted, waving a hand. "Even Bulk and Skull for that matter."

"We could only hope," Avalon murmured.

"Wouldn't that be a site to see?" Zack joked. "Just try to picture Bulk squeezing into one of our ranger suits." He sucked in a deep breath, pushing out his cheeks and stomach, laughing to himself. Jason moved a hand up to his mouth, concealing his laughter before he expression turned serious once more.

At that moment Bailey came out of the side room carrying the power morpher and power coin. She passed it over to Alpha, who held it carefully in his hands. Zack took the opportunity to look it over. It looked just like the rest of their morphers and power coins did, however this one showed the picture of a snarling Ankylosaurus. The plates on its back were the defining feature on it.

Trini let out a low gasping sound before she frowned. She shook her head as she crossed her arms, turning away from Alpha. "I don't know guys," she said slowly. "I'm getting weird vibes from that thing. It feels sort of…evil," she remarked. Her eyes then narrowed. "Not evil, exactly, but there's something off with it."

Zack listened carefully to what Trini had to say. She always had a specific sort of talent that made her a woman of the world. She always had certain vibes of different people and situations and she was always able to discern who was a good person and who was a bad once. She had managed to detect many of Rita's and Zedd's monsters through that gift as well. She thought a lot about auras and clean energy, which made her a such a good fighter in the spiritual sense. Zack had never seen someone as fluid and strong than he did with her.

"Do we really want to add that to the team?" Jason asked Zordon. "Because, as you've said before, there are different attributes that we have to bring to the team, which is what made us accepting of the power in the first place. And because we had specific things in our DNA that granted us the ability to take on the power as well. If there really is someone else that's to join our team, shouldn't we have known by now?"

"I concur," Billy said. "Though I'm curious as to why you've kept this a secret for such a long time."

"It wasn't particularly a secret than it was them trying to figure out whether or not it was something that you all needed to know at the right time," Bailey finally spoke up. She twirled the end of her ponytail around her finger. "I knew about it, but Alpha and Zordon had asked me to keep it from you guys."

"Yes, there is something about it that you need to know first, which goes into the feeling that Trini was speaking about," Zordon said. He cleared his throat. "All of your dinosaurs, the Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, and Stegosaurus all have something in common while the Mastodon, Saber tooth Tiger, and White Tiger all has something in common. The way they lived as well as their individual characteristics. The dinosaurs all had the reputation of living through some of the harsher conditions and being some of the most terrifying creatures in existence while the others lived off of cunning and lived off the land. In their individual sections, they managed to live together in peace. The ones that the power are inherited for. However, the Ankylosaurus had a very tough life. It is in our legend on Edenoi that gives us what we think is established in your powers.

"The Ankylosaurus was a bit of a loner, due to the fact that it was smaller than the rest of the dinosaurs. It seemed that it always had something to prove, which is what makes us believe it had the hard plates on its back as well as the spiked tail club, to prove to be a formidable foe and ward off its enemies whenever the time came. However, the power that it harbored was something that others wanted on their side whenever battles broke out. And it's because of that…the next person to be a ranger could be someone evil."

"What?!" Avalon and Bailey blurted out in unison. Kimberly gasped, covering her mouth with her hand and exchanging a worried glance with Trini.

Jason clenched his jaw, and Tommy and Billy made cries of surprise. Zack was the only one that was, somewhat calm. It wouldn't have been the first time they had an evil ranger to deal with through Tommy. There were also the times Rita and Zedd had changed their personalities to become a bit evil—he still remembered how weird it was when Kimberly was in fight with Trini because her club wasn't getting a lot of members—and with Zedd's dark rangers. They had defeated those problems before, what could be so wrong now?

Bailey frantically shook her head. "Y-you never told me that," she stammered.

"Wait, wait a minute," Zack said, holding his hands out, making his body in the shape of a 'T'. "We don't really know what that means; we don't need to panic, yet."

"It means boofhead, that the ranger will actually be evil, not under a spell," Bailey said. Her hands clenched at her sides before she ran them through her dark hair. "And if that's the case, the only thing that'll defeat them…is if the person that is holding the power is…killed."

Zack swallowed thickly once more. That was something new. No matter how many of them were put under a spell, how many people were held hostage, how many monsters were completely destroying the city, they had never had a fatality when they were doing their ranger duties. The evacuation process that Angel Grove had implemented in response to the first few attacks by Rita proved to work ever since then. But now that there was the chance that the powers could go to someone they absolutely had to eliminate…he couldn't stand the thought.

"There must be something we can do," Avalon insisted.

"A means to discover whom the subsequent one will be ahead of time," Billy added. "Something so that it doesn't come to that…" He closed his eyes, briefly turning his head away.

"If it's something we have to do, then it's something we have to do," Jason murmured, bowing his head. Zack stared at him in surprise. He had known Jason to be a strong leader and willing to do anything to help someone, but he hadn't thought that Jason would be the first to agree if there ever came a time they had to kill someone. On the other hand, he wasn't surprised. Jason had always been strong like that, showing his ruthless abandon whenever the time was needed. "And that's that."

"Jase, you can't mean that," Kimberly protested. "This is someone's _life_ we're talking about."

"Rangers, rangers, calm down," Alpha said, waving his hands. "Ay yi yi yi yi! You're forgetting there's the chance that the ranger could end up being good! We just don't know! We need some time to try and figure it out for ourselves!"

"But what if you're wrong?" Trini questioned.

"I got it!" Billy suddenly snapped his fingers. He turned to Avalon, who looked back at him suspiciously. Her eyes moved around the group as the other rangers all turned to look at her, seemingly having the same thought. Zack smiled a little when he saw Avalon's eyes narrow even further.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" She asked in a slow drawl.

"If you have the power of two rangers, then you can be the one to take over the power," Trini said. She looked at Billy for clarification and he nodded, giving a small smile. "And we don't have to worry about the powers going to someone that could attempt to destroy us or Angel Grove."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, but we don't know if it's going to work," Jason said, holding up a hand. "Especially considering the fact that she can't always handle all of her powers now as it is." Zack's eyes narrowed for a moment. Why was he so gung-ho about potentially killing someone innocent, but then be hesitant when it came to potentially making things better for them. Granted he was interested to see what would happen with that.

"It's a chance we may have to take," Billy responded. "The chances of it working are significantly greater than it failing."

"Yeah, so is the chance of my getting a boyfriend, but you don't see me crying about it," Avalon replied. Her cheeks flushed for a second and she crossed her arms over her chest, looking away from the others. Jason cleared is throat, scratching the back of his neck, suddenly finding great interset in his shoes. Despite the situation, Kimberly gave her a teasing smile.

"I didn't know that you were actually looking for a boyfriend, every time I asked you, you denied it," she said.

Avalon held up a hand. "Ok, that may have been a bad analogy but you get my point."

"We have to try, Av," Tommy insisted. "Like Billy said, it's better to know than to wonder what'll happen." He motioned to Bailey, Billy, Alpha and Zordon. "And these guys will be able to help you out if anything were to go wrong."

"Like my head exploding?" Avalon raised an eyebrow. "We don't know that that might happen either."

"C'mon Kid," Zack added. "Please just try."

Avalon sighed heavily and turned to her sister, holding out her hand. Bailey took the power morpher and power coin from Alpha and handed it over to her. Avalon took the power morpher and looked at it for a long moment before grasping it with both hands and thrusting it out in front of her.

"Ankylosaurus!"

The rangers shielded their face at the flash of dark light and when they turned back, Avalon stood in front of them in an off colored, somewhere between black and purple suit. Zack's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as he turned to the others. Billy slowly started to smile.

"Wow," Kimberly gasped.

"I can't believe it worked," Trini added.

"How do you feel?" Bailey asked her. She waved a hand at Billy and he nodded, moving over to a control panel and punched a thumb into a button. A panel slid open, revealing a reader. He grabbed onto it and moved back to Avalon's side, waving it up and down as he frowned at the screen.

"Ok I guess," Avalon replied. She looked down at her gloved hands before bringing one to her forehead. "Actually, I feel kinda funny." Billy's frown deepened as the reader started to go crazy, sending out loud beeps and a high-pitched whirring sound.

"What's going on?" Trini asked, stepping up to his side so she could read the screen herself.

"I don't know," Billy admitted. He turned the reader this way and that, pointing it at Avalon once more. "This reader seems to be malfunctioning." He looked up as Avalon let out a low groan and fell onto her butt, holding her head between her hands. The rangers watched as she demorphed, breathing heavily. Billy kneeled down by Avalon's side, placing a hand on her shoulder. He then moved his hand to her back, gently rubbing it. "You ok, Av?"

"You might not want to stand too close, Smurf," she said under her breath, giving a weak smile. "I may chunder on you."

"Ugh, I know what that one means," Kimberly said, taking a step back away from the orange ranger. She shook her head, turning back to Alpha and Zordon. "So, like, what happened here guys? If she has the power of two rangers, how come she couldn't hold onto this one?"

"Maybe the Ankylosaurus power is too strong?" Trini suggested.

"If that were the case then we probably would have had them as a part of our team by now," Zack denied. He crossed his arms over his chest, gently shaking his head.

"The power of the Ankylosaurus zord isn't compatible with the Stegosaurus," Zordon replied. "Legend also states that they didn't particularly trust each other so the powers wouldn't work together as well as you would have hoped."

Avalon glared up at him, weakly throwing her hands into the air. "And you couldn't have told me that _before_ I tried to morph? That would have been a great thing to know, Zordon." Zordon chuckled as Avalon shook her head. "So what's the point of having my powers if I can't use it to take on another one as well as my own?"

"That, rangers, is what we're trying to figure out as well," Alpha said. He sounded a little sad. "We felt now was a good time for you to know, and we're sorry for having you wait so long for the truth."

"You have to understand that we do what we think is best for the team, even if there are times that we have to keep things from you," Zordon added.

"It's alright Zordon, we understand," Tommy reassured him. He let out a sigh as Bailey took the power morpher and power coin and walked them back into the side room. He rubbed his chin. There was so much to think about as it was; now this was thrust upon them? He placed his hands on his hips. They could do it; they always managed to come out on top, no matter how many times they were pushed back to the bottom. "We can't thank you enough for the help and guidance that you've given us this far."

"So what do we do now?" Kimberly asked.

"We go home and get some rest," Tommy replied. "Go along with our lives until we can figure out what to do about this."

"Don't worry," Billy said with a confident nod before motioning over to Bailey. "My assistant and I will be working non-stop to see if we can figure this out."

"Oh bollocks," Avalon murmured. "Even more experiments I have to deal with." She reached up and placed her hand on Billy's shoulders, shakily getting to her feet. "Would you quit moving?" She asked him.

"I didn't do anything," Billy responded, concern clouding his eyes.

"It must have taken more out of you than you though," Trini said. She went over to Avalon's other side and grabbed onto her arm, helping the orange ranger to her feet. "All you need is a good night's sleep and you should be better by tomorrow."

"Thanks Trini," Avalon said to her.

"You'd think, by now, you'd be able to catch a break," Zack teased her.

"Who are you telling?"

Zack laughed, reaching out and ruffling her hair. He expected to get smacked on the hand, have some sort of glare shot his way, a witty, snappy remark, anything. Instead, she laughed along with him, her eyes lighting up. The other rangers started to laugh as well. It was what they needed to distress. They needed a good time to laugh and to relax and to now worry about every little thing that got in their way. He could see all of them as teenagers in that moment, not having a care in the world other than being able to hang out with their friends.

"Well, we should probably start heading home, I'm sure our parents are wondering where we go to" Jason said. He walked over to Trini and motioned for her to let go of Avalon. The yellow ranger moved aside to stand with Kimberly and Tommy; the three lived closer to each other while Avalon, Bailey, Billy, Jason, and Zack live close to each other. "We'll see you all tomorrow."

"Bye." Kimberly waved.

The rangers all teleported out of the command center.

Zack looked up at the sky once more when they landed back at the crossroads that would take them in different directions to their houses. It was completely dark now, the stars twinkling and shining, blowing them kisses to sleep. He smiled a little. It was so funny how insignificant things seemed to be when one took the time to watch the stars for a moment.

Zack lowered his head and waved to his friends. "I'll see you guys later."

"See ya, man." Jason let go of Avalon's arm and the two did their handshake. "See you tomorrow." He clapped Zack on the shoulder and Zack turned on his heel, walking towards his house. He arrived a few minutes later and slipped inside.

"I'm home!" Zack called, entering the house.

"Zachary Taylor, do you know how long I've kept dinner warming for you?" He could hear his mother call from the kitchen. "Your father and I had to start without you we're almost done."

"Sorry Mom," Zack apologized as he hurried into the kitchen. He sat down in the empty place set for him and reached forward, grabbing the spoon that sat in the bowl of potatoes. He flashed his mother a warm smile. "I just had some school stuff that I needed to do, no big."

If you didn't count one of the biggest revelations of the power rangers' lives big.

"That's alright, Zack," Mrs. Taylor laced her fingers together, resting her elbows on the table. She glanced over at her husband then at her son. "But for being late, you can help your father with the dishes after dinner. He graciously offered to do them."

Zack snorted and looked over at Mr. Taylor, whose smile appeared forced. Zack knew what that meant; he had gotten caught coming back inside. "I guess you weren't light on your feet, huh Pop?"

"Well, I guess not everyone can have a talent for dance," Mr. Taylor replied.

Zack smiled. "Thanks Dad."

"You're welcome, but that's not getting you out of doing the dishes."


	34. No Strings Attached

**Chapter 34**

_No Strings Attached_

"Hey!"

Tommy looked up from his gym bag and smiled as Kimberly gracefully walked over to him. When she reached him, she reached up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek and a hug. "Hey," Tommy replied with a warm smile. "What's up?"

"Not much, Trini and I were supposed to go to the mall but she and Billy had some homework to do," Kimberly replied. She bit her lower lip, clasping her hands together. "Don't you think they make such a cute couple? I've been waiting ages for them to get together."

"They seem to be happy with each other," Tommy agreed. "I don't think I've ever seen Billy so interested in anything other than his experiments." Kimberly laughed and lightly hit him on the arm. Tommy laughed as well, turning back to his students as they practiced the combination that Tommy had just taught them. Kimberly followed his gaze and her smile widened as she watched Bailey and Fred move along with the rest of the students that were staggered around them.

"They're doing such a great job," Kimberly murmured.

"Yeah, they've improved a lot," Tommy agreed. He picked up a white towel and dabbed at his forehead with it. "Fred really seems to have a knack for it, and really has the heart. But Bailey wants to learn everything she can. Even when we're just hanging out she's begging me to teach her something else." He turned back to her and was surprised when she leaned into him, giving him a long kiss. Tommy made a sound of surprise.

Not that Tommy didn't enjoy it when his girlfriend took initiative and wanted to make a move, he would rather it not be in front of his students when he wanted to be taken seriously. He could already hear his students snickering at them, sure they were watching. Peeking open his eye, Tommy's thoughts were proven correct. He saw Bailey move a hand over her mouth, snickering before elbowing Fred in the side and pointing. Fred then looked at the two; rolling his eyes as a smile graced his lips, then fell back into a fighting stance, concentration taking over once more. Tommy turned his attention back to Kimberly, the kiss ended and he gently placed his hands on her shoulders, smiling down at her.

"Not that I didn't enjoy that," Tommy started. He could see the confusion in Kimberly's eyes. "Because I did!" He added quickly, causing the light to return to her eyes. "But I have to get back to my students."

"Ok," Kimberly replied. She twisted her mouth to the side for a moment. "But are you still coming over to my place after?"

"Yep." Tommy nodded. "I'll be right over there after this and then we can…you know…"

Kimberly's eyebrows lowered as she took a step back away from Tommy. She worked hard to keep her jaw muscles from loosening, causing her mouth to fall open. Did she hear what she thought she heard? Surely not…were they even at that step yet? She couldn't tell. All she knew was that she liked to spend time with Tommy and was sure that she was in love with him, though she had never even said those words out loud. Weren't they supposed to do that first and then…Kimberly brought a hand up to her forehead before dropping it to her side, looking at Tommy once more.

His expression of confusion mirrored hers. What was the problem? He had only…subtly said that he would have liked to continue kissing her while they were at her house, in privacy. What was so wrong with….his eyes suddenly widened. _Oh!_ Tommy swallowed hard. Now he got it. His choice of words wasn't the best for what he was trying to imply. In fact, his words had implied that he wanted to do something completely different.

"Um," Tommy said. He licked his lips, trying to stall for time. What was he supposed to say now? No, he didn't want to…do _that_ with his girlfriend? That may make things worse, because he was sure he did. But what if she didn't want to? What if she was offended that he thought that's what they were going to be doing? He wished he had kept his mouth shut. "I have to get back to my class," he said under his breath.

"Yeah." Kimberly nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She gave him a smile, but it was fleeting. The light didn't reach her eyes this time. He had really screwed up. "I-I'll see you later…when you get done." She took a step back, playing with her fingers before turning around and walking over to her bag. Tommy watched as she hitched her backpack up over her shoulder and practically ran from the youth center.

Tommy turned back to his class, noticing that they were all staring at him. He hoped they hadn't heard everything they were talking about. Not that they would understand it, he hoped they wouldn't anyway. Tommy cleared his throat, moving his hands behind his back in a relaxed stance. He opened his mouth to say something but Bailey quickly beat him to it.

"You did something stupid didn't you?" She called out. Bailey shook her head. "I told you if you didn't think before you said anything it would just make things worse. You know how flustered you get."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bay," he replied.

"So what'd you say?" Fred added. "What made her so upset?"

"It probably didn't take much," Bailey said. She slowly started to smile. Fred pressed his lips together, trying to keep from laughing out loud.

"Yeah, you may want to stick with martial arts, Tommy," Fred added. He and Bailey burst out laughing, causing the other students to laugh too. "'Cause girls are too confusing to try and figure out." Tommy shook his head, waiting for his students to stop teasing him. Once they all fell silent, falling back into the resting position as well, Tommy took over once again.

"I guess that's it for today," he said turning serious once more. "It doesn't seem that you all are going to hold your focus for the rest of class. Not when my person business seems to be your interest." He looked over at Bailey who tilted her head to the side and smiled sweetly back at him. "You all did very well today, you should be proud of yourselves and all that you've managed to accomplish so far. I'll see you next time." He bowed once and the class did the same before dispersing. Tommy crossed his arms over his chest, walking over to the power rangers' technical advisor. "I'd prefer that you don't try to distract the class next time."

"Oh come on," Bailey said. She held up her hands defensively, batting her eyelashes. "You can't possibly be mad at me."

"Wanna bet?" Tommy replied. He reached out and ruffled her hair. She batted his hands away, quickly moving to fix it. "Like I said, my personal life is none of your business."

"It is when we can see that you're doing something wrong," Fred pointed out. He scratched the back of his head. "All of us could see that you said something wrong because you and Kim are usually closer than anyone I know." He pointed over at Bailey. "Even her and her sister."

"And that's saying something," Bailey added. She stepped up to Tommy and patted him on the shoulder. "So what's up, Tommy?"

Tommy chuckled as he looked down at Bailey. She really had grown to be like a little sister to him. She annoyed him in the same ways one would as well as generally being a cool person to have around. The fact that she knew about them being rangers and helping them out was a plus, he knew that she would always be there to help them out as he would keep an eye on her whenever the time came as well. Considering her maturity she was a good person to talk to about Kimberly—they couldn't have become any closer since Tommy had been there when she got her first period—but even this was too heavy for the smart girl.

"Nothing I can't handle," he replied.

Fred's eyebrows quirked upward. "You sure about that?"

Bailey laughed again. Tommy shifted his gaze back and forth between the young boy and girl. If Kimberly had been there he knew what she would say about it. He suddenly was very wary of the boy and for a reason he couldn't particularly understand. He hadn't any ill thoughts towards the boy since he met him but now…there was something off. He couldn't put his finger on it. _It must be the whole Ankylosaurus power morpher thing,_ Tommy thought. The idea alone, that any evil person could potentially get the power, was putting him on edge. Not knowing even if it would be someone that could help them was making it hard for him to concentrate. _That must be it._

"I'll walk you back home," Tommy said to Bailey. "Just let me get changed first."

"Sorry." Bailey shrugged. "Fred and I have to put the finishing touches on our project for the science fair. It's in two weeks you know." She placed her hands behind her back, smiling so widely it looked like her face was about to split open. "You're going, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Tommy promised. "I said I'd go and I'll go." He leaned towards Bailey. "Between you and me, I'm sure Avalon would kill me if I didn't go, anyway."

"You'd be right," Bailey replied. Tommy laughed and held out his hand. Bailey slapped hers into his palm, and then the two snapped their fingers, pointing at each other. "I'll see you later." She waved at Tommy, tucked her backpack in her arms and started out of the youth center. Fred nodded at Tommy and the two did their own handshake before following her.

 _He has been improving quickly,_ Tommy thought. _And he's been around putties and monsters lately. I wonder if he's the one that'll get the powers._ Tommy paused at the thought then shook his head. Frowning, he gathered up his things and walked off towards the locker rooms. He made a mental note to talk to the others about it later.

The sooner they found out who the next ranger would be, the better.

* * *

 

Billy flipped a page in his textbook, reading over the words that were scrawled over the page, and then turned back to his notebook to scribble down what he thought was the most pressing information. Once he was finished he turned back to Trini, and then frowned when he noticed the faraway look in her eyes as she absentmindedly tapped her pen on the edge of her notebook. He reached out and placed a hand on the yellow ranger's shoulder.

"What's wrong, Trin?" He asked.

"What makes you think anything's wrong?" Trini sat up, blinking rapidly for a few seconds before she relaxed. She turned her attention to her textbook. Billy gave her a funny look as he sat up straight. He reached over and lifted the cover of her book to reveal that it was a science textbook.

"The first reasoning being that you don't particularly enjoy studying science and well more often than not put it as the last subject to work with," he said. He then leaned over to her notebook and chuckled. "And I'm sure that water isn't actually a gas," he added then his features softened. "And you've been looking at your watch since you've got here."

"My parents are probably expecting me home soon," Trini murmured.

Billy gave her a funny look once more. "They never seemed to have a problem with you being out with friends before," he reminded her. "In fact, they're probably the most laid back out of all of our parents." He scratched the back of his head. "Is something wrong?"

Trini let out a heavy sigh before bringing her hands up and pushing them back behind her ears. She hadn't wanted to tell him this way, she wanted to be able to bring it up at a time where things were going well and the news wouldn't change things. Would they change between them? That's what she was worried about, how he would react to it. Billy was never a guy that tended to get angry over many things, like Tommy, Zack, or Jason would. Instead, Billy continued to become determined and worked harder than he had ever before, usually coming on top afterwards. But that was when it came to monster attacks or tests or projects that stood in his way. He didn't stand up to Bulk and Skull unless he had something witty to say that would go over their heads.

How would he react to this?

"C'mon Trin, you can tell me," Billy pressed. "If there's anything wrong, I'll try to help the best I can."

"But you're…kind of the problem," Trini said. She squeezed an eye shut, slowly turning to him. At the hurt look on his face she quickly brought her hand up. "No! Not like that! It's—"she sighed once more, running a hand through her hair. "It's my Mom and Dad," she said slowly. "They usually don't mind who my friends are or who I could become interested in. They really liked Richie when they met him and seemed open about it but…" She lowered her gaze for a minute. "Billy, my parents aren't happy that I'm dating you."

Billy blinked in confusion, not sure where to start. Had he done something wrong? Had he done something to offend them? He didn't think so; they had always appeared to like him whenever he went over to the Kwan's place, even the few times he had gone for dinner. They had been nice and cordial and asked a lot questions about what he had been working on at the time. They even tried to understand his advanced technical jargon, when Trini would have to decipher things for them, just like she would around their friends.

"It's not that they don't like you," Trini said quickly. "They do, I know they do. They just don't like the fact that I'm dating someone that's not Vietnamese." She laced her fingers together. "They have the idea that—"

"That you should only date someone they approve of," Billy interrupted. He shrugged slightly. "It makes sense, I mean, I understand that the idea of family and the way that people of your culture like to keep things a certain way. I just hope that I didn't do anything to offend them or to make them dislike me in some way and I would hope that there was some way that we could continue to…hang out like we have been and if you think that it won't work then I can understand that and—"

Trini leaned forward and pressed her lips against Billy's. Billy made a slight gasping sound of surprise. He slowly relaxed, shyly kissing her back. As their lips were connected, there was a slight tingling between the two of them, as if the two had gently been shocked. Trini pulled back, smiling to herself. Billy's eyes slowly opened and he smiled shyly back at her. The blue and yellow rangers sat in silence for a few moments, neither of them sure what to say to break the silence. It was when Trini shifted to turn back to her textbook that something off caught her attention.

"Woops." Trini giggled as she pulled back away from Billy. Her eyes moved up to his hair, which was now standing on end. "Sorry," she apologized, reaching out to push it back to its normal placement. "I guess I have to get used to that too." Billy opened his mouth to say something, but was at a loss. "Billy?"

"Uh…um…" Billy's cheeks flushed. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand, turning his gaze back to his textbook. "That was pretty…uh, shocking to say the least." Trini giggled again. He smiled over at her. "That was nice."

"I was just trying to get you to stop talking," Trini said with a sheepish smile. She reached out and placed her hand on Billy's wrist. "Don't worry so much about everything with my parents; I'm sure I can think of something to get them to calm down a little." She tucked her loose hair behind her ear once more. "I love them and I respect them, but their decision, it's something I don't agree with."

She thought back to how her parents had reacted the first time she was going out with Billy. Her father had become very stern, not wanting her to date someone they hadn't chosen for her. An arranged marriage was something she had never wanted, though she had been aware of that possibility since she was a young girl. She had been sitting with her mother in her room once, admiring her wedding dress when her mother had first mentioned it in a passing message, as if it was supposed to go over Trini's head. Trini had thought about it a lot that night, she had always thought about marriage when she was young as she supposed all little girls did. She always thought she would meet someone on the street or in a café or at the movies and she would know immediately that he was the one she would end up with. Now that she knew how strongly her parents felt, now that she knew it was something they expected she wasn't sure what was more important, following her heart or following what her parents said.

She loved her parents dearly and never wanted to disrespect them, but there had to be a way she could explain to them what she wanted without them turning cold to her.

_"You know you're going to marry whomever we decide for you," Mr. Kwan said to his daughter. "A nice Vietnamese man. Not an American who has no values."_

Trini shook her head. No. They didn't know Billy the way she did; how nice he was, how sweet, how smart, how determined, and how caring he could be. He always had her back and the two had gotten along so well since the fist met. Whoever said they were going to get married, anyway? They were just going out and having a good time with each other.

"I just won't tell them," Trini finally decided.

Billy's eyebrows rose, slightly pursing his mouth. "Do you think that's a wise decision? I don't want you to think that you have to disrespect your parents." He waved a hand. "I mean…I like you, Trini, but I don't want you to make things difficult."

"If anything, Billy, you make things better," Trini replied causing Billy to flush once more. She smiled to herself. She had always complimented him like that and he always reacted in a bashful way. It was nice and refreshing compared to the more confident red, black, and white rangers. "Really, what they want…it's not what I want. And I don't want you to get dragged in the middle of things, I can handle this. I'll tell them when I think the time is right."

"And you know I'll support you when you make that decision," Billy agreed. He drummed his fingers on his book. "You know, I've always liked that about you, Trini." At her curious expression he continued. "That you always go along with what you believe in; you don't let anyone change your mind about anything. I really admire that." He looked down at her hand and gently shifted his, thus moving her hand from his wrist and into his own. He closed his fingers over hers.

Trini smiled back.

Billy shivered as there was a sudden gust of cool air around them. Trini tightened her hand in his then looked at her watch once more. "Not that I'm trying to get away from you, but I really should get going," Trini said as she stood up and gathered her books. "I really don't want them to worry more than they already do."

"I'll walk you out," Billy offered. He stood up as well, pulling back her chair before leading her to the door. He waited for her to pull on her backpack, loosening her hair from behind her back. He hesitated a moment then leaned towards her, giving her a hug. Trini beamed her beautiful smile and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back. "See you tomorrow." Billy opened the door and waved at Trini before she went down the steps and started to walk back to her house. Billy closed the door behind her.

"You know what would have been really impressive, mate? Walking her home."

Billy jumped as he turned around, nearly crashing into the closed door. He looked at Avalon, who calmly sat on the bottom step, inspecting an apple that was in her hand. Steggy sat on her shoulder, making tiny mechanical noises in greeting. His eyebrows lowered. He hadn't noticed her enter the kitchen at all since Trini had arrived to do their homework. So how had she…then he understood. That's what the cold rush of wind was, she had used her enhanced speed to run into the kitchen and grab the apple. But she had been moving at such a high speed that neither he nor the yellow ranger had even seen her. It would have been so fascinating, something that would have had the two of them in garage with Billy running tests and Avalon complaining about said tests if he wasn't waiting for his heart to come back down from his fright.

"Were you spying on us?" Billy asked, his eyes widening in embarrassment. Having his first kiss was good enough, having it being watched was the last thing he wanted or needed. The thought of the kiss made him blush even harder. He swore he could see a mischievous smile on Avalon's face, though it disappeared in a second.

Avalon took a bite of her apple before waving it at him. "Relax, Smurf, I just needed to get something to eat. If I was spying I would have been a lot more careful for you to not notice I was there." She then smirked at him, dropping her left hand into her lap. "I never knew that you were that innocent though, really proves that you haven't had a girlfriend before. I bet you don't even know what the rainbow game is."

"No," Billy said honestly. "What's that?"

Avalon slapped her hands over her face. "Why am I friends with you?" Her voice was muffled behind her hands. Billy laughed at her mocking tone of voice. He reached out and poked the top of her hand. She smacked his hand away. He did a few more times with the same reaction.

"I've been speculating the same thing." Billy turned and sat down on the stairs next to her. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his upraised knees. "Why _are_ you friends with me?"

Avalon looked startled for a moment then her face cleared. She turned to Billy with a soft smile. "Because you were the first person that wasn't afraid of me." She then bobbed her head back and forth, pretending to think. "And because I'm able to get as much help on my homework as I can."

"So I'm only good for you for homework?" Billy asked.

"Pretty much, yeah," Avalon replied. She took another bite of her apple then smiled slyly. "And being able to watch you and Trini." Billy made a noise of protest but he was talking to thin air as Avalon had disappeared back up the stairs.

* * *

 

Captain William Mitchell glanced at his watch before staring down at the empty plate and glass that sat in front of him. He wasn't going to wait much longer. If she didn't arrive soon he would just get up and leave, he owed himself that much. Things had never been that great between the two of them, her tardiness had always been one of his pet peeves and how it was rearing its ugly head again.

"Hello William."

Speak of the devil.

Captain Mitchell looked up as a lovely blonde woman sat down in front of him. Her dark eyes flashed, her lips pursing as she crossed her legs, dropping her hands into her lap. Ellie Mitchell stared at Captain Mitchell for a long moment before speaking again. "I'm surprised that you decided to show up. You never were that reliable."

"I'm just as reliable as you are with your tardiness," Captain Mitchell replied. He cleared his throat, sitting up in his seat. "Look, I don't want to fight about how yours and my relationship fell apart, I wanted to talk about our daughters, like I've said over the phone."

"Right." Ellie tucked her hair behind her ears. "I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you on that message before, I've been really busy lately." She crossed her legs the other way. "What is it about them you wanted to talk about? Are you going to give my custody again?"

Captain Mitchell's upper lip twitched, his mustache quickly moving was the only indication that he was irritated. "You lost custody when you left us," he said evenly. "I know that we were never married, Ellie, but you still could have tried to make things work."

Ellie's eyes widened before she leaned towards Captain Mitchell. "I can't believe you're turning this load of bollocks around on me! I told you before, William, that if you didn't stop doing those experiments, endangering our girls' lives then I wasn't going to stay. _You_ decided that your job and your research were more important than the three of us. I warned you that I wasn't going to be ignored anymore but you didn't take me seriously." She slapped her hand on the table. "I can't even imagine what you told Avalon and Bailey after I left."

"That's not the point, Ellie!" Captain Mitchell pinched the bridge of his nose.

He took in a deep breath. It had been a mistake, every decision he had made had been a mistake, and he could admit that. His wife's health had been failing and he found comfort in Ellie, then after she passed away he couldn't deal with anything anymore. He couldn't deal with his choices, he couldn't deal with the fact he had been unfaithful and dishonest to everyone he knew. Instead, he pushed himself more into his work, especially after Ryan had been kidnapped by that monster. He had to figure out what would be able to battle a monster like that. That's how he had stumbled upon the power rangers in the first place, so he decided to try and make powers of his own.

That's when Avalon had wandered into the garage and had accidentally been exposed to the powers he had been working on at the time. How would he have known, later, that she really would have ended up becoming a power ranger?

"The point is that our daughters have gotten in some trouble," Captain Mitchell explained. Ellie's face immediately turned to one of extensive concern. "Avalon and Abigail…it took me a while to track them down…at first, they were running all over Angel Grove in California."

"The place that's always getting attacked by those monsters?" Ellie asked. She slowly brought a hand up towards her mouth, her eyes widening. Her red painted lips stood out against her pale skin, making her freckles stand out even more. "They're in California?"

"Yes. I sent them there…I thought I could take care of them, I couldn't." Captain Mitchell shook his head. He had failed three of his kids. One was forcibly taken, the other two were sent away. He had Dana left and she was his world, he wasn't going to jeopardize that again. "I sent them to live with my sister; I didn't know she had moved. I lost touch with them shortly after they landed and I've been looking for them ever sense." He lifted his head and looked straight into Ellie's eyes. "Ellie, they got into some trouble. Avalon fell into a bad crowd and now they're starting to get her out of that. Bailey's OK. The two of them are living with friends of theirs."

Ellie slowly nodded. She brought a hand up to her hair before covering her hands with her face. How could she have let this happen? She felt so terribly that she had lost custody in the first place, just because she wanted to get away and to start a better life, they had seen that she 'wasn't a fit mother' and would be able to take care of them. Sure, William made more money, yes they weren't married—she had only legally changed her last name as they were to get married later—, and yes he did have the better opportunities to give them. But she was their mother; she should have been able to get something. Everything had gone down in such a bad way and before she knew it, her daughters were gone.

Now knowing that they were OK was all she needed to know.

"I'm going to go see them," Ellie finally said. Captain Mitchell's eyes widened and Ellie nodded. "They deserve to know the truth, Will, you know that. They've deserved to know for a long time." She reached out and grabbed onto his hand. "You know I still care about you, I know you've made mistakes, but they deserve to know."

"Ellie, you can't do that," Captain Mitchell protested. "Not yet." He reached out his other hand, placing it on top of hers. "Please, I just need some more time. This could be damaging—"

"They're already damaged!" Ellie said, her voice rising. "They were on their own for, what, three years? Four? Do you know what that can do to someone? They probably think we abandoned them."

Captain Mitchell pressed his hands to his face. How? How could all of this have fallen apart? All at once. He knew things would be tense when he saw the woman he had fathered two children with, the one that he had a beautiful relationship with that had come crashing down when he couldn't deal with his past and with his mistakes. They were all mistakes; things that made him feel better in those moments. Now he had two daughters that were putting themselves in danger every day, and a daughter that was blissfully unaware of anything other than her life and her father. And it was all because he had made a decision that he thought was best.

He couldn't dare allow his son to die; instead he allowed his own life to fall into turmoil.


	35. Deal Your Cards

**Chapter 35**

_Deal Your Cards_

"And while we're glad to have you back in class, Avalon, I can't help but worry because your grades still haven't improved. Yes, you're participating in class more often, but there hasn't been a significant shift in the amount of work that you turn in," Ms. Appleby said. She sat, prim and proper, at her desk, fingers laced and wearing an expression of concern towards the orange ranger, who sat across from her, legs cross at the knee and her arms in the similar position on her down student's desk.

"I'm trying my best, Ms. Appleby," Avalon said calmly. "But school has never been my strong point. I'm street smart, not book smart and quite honestly, mate, I think it's more important." She did her best to keep her face from warping into a mixed expression of a knowing smile and a grimace. If only her teacher had known who Chase really was that one time she had let her leave the classroom. The kind teacher would have probably had a heart attack if she knew how beat up Chase had ever made her. If not call the police herself.

That would have been pretty funny.

"Now, I don't believe that," Ms. Appleby said with a slight shake of her head. "It just takes a lot of hard work and I know you have that drive in you to do well." She picked up the staples papers that sat in front of her and held it out to Avalon. "Now, I want you to look over this and fix the mistakes that were made and I can give you extra credit. I'm sure if you buckle down from here on out you'll continue to improve in the way both of us know you can."

Avalon took the test, folding it up in her hand. Her right eyebrow rose. "You're not going to ask me to have my parents sign it?"

"I think, by now, I would know whenever my students forge the signature so that's not necessary." Ms. Appleby laughed as she stood up, gathering her things. "Thanks for taking the time to stop by, Avalon."

"No worries." Avalon stood up, taking her test with her. Folding it in her hands, she waited for Ms. Appleby to leave the room before walking out herself. She held it tight in her hand as she headed over to her locker. Once there, she spotted the other rangers at their own locker and her pace increased. She approached Tommy, whose locker was the closest to hers.

"Hey Av, what's up?" Tommy asked in cheerful greeting. "How was your meeting with Ms. Appleby."

Avalon snorted, holding out the folded sheet of paper. "Does this answer your question?" She slapped the sheet of paper into his chest before leaning against her locker, arms over chest, one boot covered foot up against the metal door.

"What's that?" Zack asked. He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "A restraining order?"

"No." Avalon pointed at him. "That hasn't come in the mail yet." She then smiled evilly. "Though your face is good enough as a replacement so far." She laughed along with the others rangers as Zack pursed his lips. "No, it's my last history test."

"Oh, really? How'd you do?" Kimberly gave her a bright smile, moving up to Tommy's side and standing on her tip-toes to see for herself.

Tommy grimaced as he handed the test back to Avalon. "Well, think of it this way," he said helpfully. "You can only improve from here." He handed the test back to the orange ranger, turning back to his locker. He barely acknowledged Kimberly, who had taken a step away from him. Apparently things weren't back to normal between the two of them.

"Yeah, right." Avalon opened her locker and shoved the test inside before slamming the door shut. She let out an exaggerated cry of frustration, throwing her hands into the air. Her left hand clutched a Ring Pop she had taken from the shelf in her locker. "Why can't anything good happen to me?"

"I don't know," Jason started. A smile slowly wormed its way on his face as he turned his gaze from the strap of his backpack over to the orange ranger. His eyes shined with mischief. "If you ask me, I think that you—"

"Belt up!" Avalon warned him, pointing directly at him. She knew exactly what he was referring t and immediately felt a rush of anger as well as annoyance towards the red ranger. Sure, he had been nice after she had practically jumped him, but did he have to bring it up later? Of course. It must have been payback from all of the times she had teased him so far…and from the first time she met him, that was a lot. But who knew a guy would ever use a kiss as a way to tease someone? It wasn't just smart, it was underhanded and something she would have never expected to be thrown back in her face.

 _But he was the one that threw in your face that you were putting your friends in danger, _Avalon reminded herself. The thought along made her huff with annoyance, causing Jason's smile to widen to its full extent.

Trini looked back and forth between the two rangers as Jason started to laugh to himself. She looked over at Kimberly, who appeared just as baffled as she did. "What'd I miss? What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Avalon mumbled darkly.

"Really? It doesn't sound like nothing," Kimberly pressed. A tiny smile tugged at her lips. "What's going on between you two?" She looked over at Jason, who pressed his lips together and shrugged. "Really. What is it?"

"Nothing," Avalon insisted in a low growl, glaring at the pink ranger. "Seriously, back off, alright!" Kimberly's eyes widened though Avalon didn't apologize, choosing, instead, to turn her head away. She never apologized unless she absolutely had to. It wasn't her fault she hated it whenever people got up in her business.

"Your body language and the sudden abrasive nature of your tone suggest that there really is something that is bothering you as opposed to the absence that you're referring to," Billy said innocently.

"Smurf! Don't help, you yobbo!" Avalon snapped. She pinched the bridge of her nose for a minute then looked at her watch. "Hey, today's Friday! Whose house are we going to for movie night?" She turned back to her locker, hoping the change in subject would take everyone's attention off of her. Thankfully she heard the rangers behind her conversing over what movie they were going to watch and at whose house. _Thank God,_ she thought. _The last thing I need right now is for these guys to put even more attention on me than I already have._ She let out a sigh, suddenly remembering that she was supposed to meet up with Chase, Skye, and Summer that night. He had sounded very insistent on the phone the last time he called.

Then again, when had he _not_ been insistent?

Ever since she joined them, he had really taken her under his wing, being sure she knew what she was getting into. He had shown her around the city, introducing her to some of the facets that had to go along with gang life and being in the Vipers. He took her on stakeouts to watch the police, seeing what they were doing to catch those from the Vipers, he pointed out the High-Flyers, showed her the best places to hit that had little to no security or video cameras around. He took her under his wing, protecting her and letting her know what was going on in the world around her…and yet he was the one that caused her the most harm. He pushed her, punched her, tortured her whenever she didn't do exactly what he wanted or in a way that he approved of. He smacked her around when she talked back, waved a gun in her face and threatened her life on numerous occasions.

The times that she would wake up from a nightmare, though they had started to become few and far between, she would suddenly sit up and grab a bat that sat by her bed and sit in the corner of the room, watching and waiting for something to happen. The High-Flyers had quickly raised her sense of paranoia when they had kicked in the front door of their apartment and left their symbol to let her know they knew where she lived. Even being at the Cranstons' house now, while she did feel safe, she didn't know how much longer things were going to stay that way.

 _It's only a matter of time until she was able to finally relax and not worry about my head blowing up from the blood pressure._ Avalon thought. She took out the books she needed for her homework and shoved them into her backpack, turning back around to her friends.

"I'm just saying that watching action movies get boring and predictable after a while," Kimberly said. Her arms were crossed over the front of her sun dress, her hip was cocked, and she was glaring up at Zack. Zack glared back down at her, his hands on his hips, head tilted down so that he could respond to her.

"And _I'm_ just saying that watching romance movies gets old," Zack insisted. "Especially considering its all fake and the whole movie could be fixed within the first fifteen minutes if the two leads would just talk to each other!"

Kimberly made a scoffing sound and the two started to bicker as the rangers looked back and forth between the two as if watching a volleyball match. Jason sighed loudly, looking at his watch. "So who do you think will win this time? My money's on Kim."

"Or we could compromise," Trini pointed out. She stepped up between the pink and black rangers, placing a hand on their shoulders and pulling them apart from each other. "This fight will go on longer than we need if you don't stop." She cleared her throat and motioned to Billy. "Since we're having it at his place, why don't we let Billy decide?"

"Because he'll make us watch some sort of documentary," Zack reminded him.

"Really? 'Cause I thought that learning about the Big Bang Theory was simply fascinating," Tommy said sarcastically. He exchanged a look with Jason and the two started to laugh, giving each other a high-five. "Hey guys, don't worry about it, we'll figure out what to watch when we go later tonight."

"If that's the case, I need to go find Bailey," Avalon said, pulling her backpack up on her shoulders. "I'm sure she's anxious to get more of her science fair entry done."

"What have she and Fred come up with, anyway?" Trini asked. She gave the orange ranger a warm smile, hugging her own backpack to her chest. "They've kept it a secret for so long I don't think anyone knows it."

Avalon waved a hand. "Something about nano particles," she said. "Billy knows what it is but I couldn't sit still long enough to listen before my eyes glazed over." She looked over at Zack and Kimberly once more as they continued to argue. "She's really excited about it though. More excited than her birthday, honestly, and I didn't think that was possible."

"Well, turning thirteen is a big deal," Trini pointed out. She gave a half smile. "It just sucks that your Mom and Dad can't be there to help celebrate." Her eyes lowered to her feet and she let out a short sigh before looking over at Billy, who had now given up trying to step between the two rangers. Billy gave her a sympathetic look, reaching down to take her hand and gently squeeze it in his. "But at least she'll be in the company of friends."

Avalon slowly nodded. Her eyes narrowed as she continued to study Trini, knowing something else was going on, but didn't push on it. She could accept it whenever someone had something they didn't want to talk about. She was like that anyway, whenever someone tried to push into her personal business, she would lash out until they got the message and continued to stay away from her. The rangers didn't seem to worry about that, they had been the first ones to break through her barrier quicker than anyone she had ever encountered.

"That's what I was thinking," Avalon said. "Especially considering it's the same day as the science fair so no matter what she's going to have her friends around her." She placed her hands on her hips and looked at the rangers. "Thanks for agreeing that you'll go. Bay doesn't like to make a big deal about her birthday but I know she's excited to know you lot are going to be there."

"We wouldn't miss it," Tommy reminded her. "What better way to spend the day than with your friends?" He thought about it for a minute. "Apart from fighting monsters and saving Angel Grove," he added. The rangers laughed. Tommy let out a sigh.

"If we're going to have movie night at our place then we need to get the place cleaned up before you all come over," Billy said. He looked at his watch. "I suppose we have a sufficient amount of time to successfully sanitize and put everything away." He turned to Avalon, eyebrows raised. "Are you ready to go?"

"Hey, it's the weekend, I was ready to get out of here as soon as I stepped foot in school on Monday," Avalon pointed out. She then pointed at Kimberly and Zack. "And as much as I enjoy watching Frick and Frack argue, it's starting to wear on my patience."

"That's saying something," Jason remarked. He turned and reached behind him, pulling out a sheet of paper. "That reminds me, this is from my Dad." He handed her the sheet of paper and she opened it, quickly looking over it. "Considering the police involvement you have, he says the two options are to turn yourself in and deal with community service or turn in the others and get a plea deal."

"Great." Avalon rolled her eyes. "Either way I'm on the losing end of the deal."

Kimberly and Zack had finally stopped arguing at that point and finally turned back to the other rangers. "Everything's going to be OK, Av, don't worry." Kimberly reached out and gently placed her hand on the orange ranger's wrist and squeezed. "You just need to focus on something else….like the prom dresses that we still need to get."

"Only you can turn everything back to shopping Kim," Jason teased her.

"Hey, prom is a very important part of a girl's life," Kimberly said. "And just like homecoming, we need to find the perfect dressers sooner rather than later."

"You look beautiful in everything you wear, Kim," Tommy said almost shyly. "So whatever dress you find, I'm sure it'll be amazing." Kimberly gave him a bright smile, her eyes lighting up. She stepped over to her boyfriend and gave him a hug, one that was shorter than usual. Enough so that the other rangers noticed it. "C'mon, I need to get home and get changed before we go over for movie night. Drive me?"

Tommy hesitated a moment, his eyebrows lowering in confusion. A second later his eyes cleared and he smiled at her. "Yeah, let's go." He nodded over to his friends. "

"What's up with them?" Avalon asked Trini.

Trini shrugged. If the yellow ranger knew, which Avalon was sure she did, she wasn't saying anything. The pink and white ranger walked off and the others continued to gather their things together. Billy looked at his friends. "Are any of you accompanying me and Avalon back to our residence to help set up?"

"Helping set up means cleaning and you know I already do enough of that at home with my Mom being a neat freak and everything," Zack said. He held up his hands, taking a large step back.

"And I have to do my homework before I go over," Jason replied. "You know my parents' rule." He rubbed his chin then turned to Avalon once more. "Though my Mom says 'hi' and she wants to know if you plan on stopping by again." He laughed and backed away with Zack as Avalon let out a cry of frustration.

Now he was doing it on purpose.

"What up with you and Jason?" Trini fired back to Avalon as the two and Billy headed towards doors of the school to go to the Cranston house.

"Touché."

* * *

 

"Those power brats better not think we're giving up on them!" Rita grumbled to Zedd, shoving another piece of meat into her mouth. She chewed viciously before grabbing another piece with her fork. "We haven't come up with a new plan of attack in days, Zeddy! We have to do something soon!"

"Patience is a virtue my dear," Zedd replied. "We need them to fall into a sense of security before we strike again." He gave her a long look. "And this time, I'm running the plan and we're going to destroy the power rangers once and for all."

Rita let out a loud, bark of laughter. "What makes you think you'll be able to do it?"

"What makes you think I won't?" Electricity crackled as Zedd stood up, grabbing onto his staff. "With the horoscope monsters at our arsenal, we have to continue to throw monster attacks to the rangers until they become exhausted." His fingers clacked against the rod of the staff. "And then we'll crush them like the little fleas they are."

"Like I haven't tried that before, "Rita said, rolling her eyes.

Zedd turned back to Rita and shook his head. "You underestimate me. I've seen everything that Zordon and his rangers have been throwing out at you since the beginning and I've started to plan accordingly. Exhaustion and balancing their lives is one thing that they've had to deal with. But they're not going to be able to see what I have coming."

"So spit it out!" Rita screeched. "What's your big plan?"

"That will come in time, all you need to know is that while you've been out in that space dumpster, I've been searching for something that will destroy Zordon, Alpha, and everything they stand for once and for all. And believe me when I say it'll be the last thing Zordon could see coming."

* * *

 

Avalon tapped her foot up and down and glanced at her watch. She needed to get this done so she could get back to movie night with her friends before they noticed she was gone. When she had left, they were in the middle of picking the next movie and a ping-pong tournament. As she was pretty bad at ping-pong, though her competitive nature hadn't been quelled hen facing Zack, she knew she had a good ten minutes before anyone would see.

Sitting across from her, Skye flipped a switchblade up into the air and caught it in his hand. Tearing her gaze from her watch Avalon was mesmerized by the light glinting off of the blade. The rhythmic movement caught her off guard. Nothing around the warehouse was rhythmic, it was all systematic. Things had to work at a certain way at a certain time or else the Vipers suffered Chase's wrath. He was usually complacent and confident, though in the right circumstances he became a blood thirsty sadist.

It was a shock to her, the first time she witnessed it. It had been her first time out defending the Vipers' territory. As she walked along with Chase and Skye, she was already pumped, ready to go and not willing to let anything get in her way. Nothing could compare to the adrenaline rush. It was a different kind of energy; a cold sweat rolled down her back, her heart thudded against her breastbone. Who knew what was going to happen that not? She didn't. Not at the time. Chase's silent determination, his calculated exterior didn't help her anxiety.

The next twenty minutes had been nothing but chaos. Avalon stuck to Chase's side like glue, under her specific instruction to do so as the High-Flyers jumped out of nowhere and started to attack their small group. They had numbers not their side, a sea of purple against a tiny island of black, but they all had done the best they could to be sure they defended their turf as long and hard as they could. Grunts and cries of rage and pain rang out around them, but Avalon continued to fight as long as she was standing. Avalon had a tendency to go blank whenever she was fighting; she focused on the energy and combinations she was throwing, the way her fists and feet connected with whomever she was fighting. It made her smile with satisfaction when the feeling of a hit radiated through her body, rattling her bones.

That was the first time she heard the sound of a merciless beating.

Everything fell away in that moment as Avalon turned and watched Chase lean over a High-Flyer, his hand rocketing back and forth over his opponent's torso. At the time, when she had noticed the blood, Avalon curiously wondered whether or not he had pissed himself. The smell didn't hit her until a second later…

Chase delivered a solid punch to the High Flyer's face and Avalon could clearly hear his nose break like shattering glass. Getting to his feet, Chase shoved the High-Flyer back onto the ground and turned towards Avalon. He wiped his switchblade off on his shirt as he walked past her, eyes averted. Avalon could hear his ragged breathing, much like a lion's growl as it caught up to its prey. However, Chase's prey had been hunted.

"What are _you_ looking at?"

Avalon blinked, broken out of her thoughts. Chase had said the same thing to me when he noticed she had watched him beat up the High-Flyer. Now Skye said it with the same inflection, though not with the same forcefulness.

"Not much, apparently," Avalon replied before shifting sideways in the armchair. That was my spot, the leather armchair, Chase and Skye had the beat up couch, and Summer usually sat on the floor, looking over our ammunition. She glanced at the ceiling; there were a few holes in the warehouse roof, worn down over time. The metal and wooden walls were starting to fall apart as well, it had been abandoned years ago, the musty smell a common feature, but it was theirs.

Skye didn't smile.

He caught his knife in his hand and shoved it into his pocket before leaning forward, resting his arms on his spread legs. Tilting his head down, he gave her a level gaze. "You run your mouth an awful lot for a fringe."

Avalon glared at the last word that came out of his mouth. Fringe also known as the person that you weren't sure was completely loyal to the cause. It was the one word that irritated her the most in the world. She was part of a gang and much like other groups and organizations, a gang had a specific set of structure that they all followed. The 'leaders' or the 'hardcores' were at the top; the gang leader the one who determined at what level of criminal activity the gang worked with. The hardcores were the gang members culturally and criminally enmeshed in the gang and are at risk of being that way for the rest of their lives. Then under those two were the Associates, Cliques, Fringes, Wanna-bes, and Could-bes. Associate gang members usually had a personal commitment to the gang, Fringes were the ones that were still able to live outside of the gang culture or someone who wasn't completely committed to the gang, Wanna-Bes are those that _think_ they're gang members and try to prove that they can join, and a clique is a mixture of different members of a gang.

Avalon thought about the section she and Chase, Skye, Ross, and Summer were a part of. They were a clique; a gang within a gang. There were many more Vipers scattered round the US, but they were the only ones, at the moment, that were in Angel Grove. Who knew how many in all there were out there.

"Who are you calling a fringe?" Swinging her legs to the floor, Avalon mimicked Skye's posture, glaring at him. Did they all really think she was a liability to them? Right from the beginning Skye hadn't been happy with her being there, most likely as he was Chase's right hand before she came along. Avalon gritted her teeth, practically snarling. She had done nothing but prove to them over and over that she was loyal to them. She had the scars to prove it, she'd been in the fights, did drug deals, defended their turf…even kept being a power ranger from them to prove that she was willing to keep both of her lives separate.

Skye lifted an eyebrow; he probably saw the indignation in her face. "You can say and do whatever you want while you're with us…but when you're out there,"-he pointed towards the exit-"that's where you show you're true colors. You're a fringe if I ever saw one." He shook his head. "I still don't understand why Chase brought you here-"

"Maybe that's none of your business," Chase said as he strode into the room. Tim trailed in behind him. I reached out and grabbed onto the arms of my chair, ready to jump to Chase's aid if he needed it. I didn't trust Tim, not even when word started to spread around…that it'd be good for the Vipers and the High-Flyers to join forces. "I've got some news." He glanced around the room and his handsome features turned into a scowl. "Where the fuck is Summer?" He turned and kicked at the wall.

"I haven't heard from her all day," Skye said. He finally smiled for the first time since I had arrived at our place. "Maybe they finally realized how much of a fucking whack job you really are." He crossed his arms over his chest, not seeming to notice Chase's eyes flash over to him.

"Skye, shut up," Avalon said, her eyes still on Chase. She gripped her hands between her knees. Did he know what she was going to say? It wouldn't surprise her. He knew everything the police was up to weeks in advanced. It was how they were all able to get away from the police busts that had been set up last minute. Now that the media was figuring out they were the ones behind the break-ins, Chase had backed off for a bit, wanting things to die down before they struck again.

"Both of you shut up!" Chase snapped. "As of right now…we're in war. Not just with the High Flyers but with everyone that says what we're doing is wrong. We're going to show Angel Grove we're the ones that run this city."

Skye started to snicker at Chase's choice of words. In the next second, Chase had Skye pinned against the wall and had a gun pressed to his face. Tim raced across the room and grabbed Chase, pulling him off of Skye.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Skye spat, rubbing his throat.

"You're my fucking problem!" Chase spat. "This is fucking serious and if you can't fucking handle it, you need to get out now! Though I can't be sure that you'll survive it." He then rounded on Avalon. The orange ranger looked back at him evenly. "And you can go right with him, fringe,"—he spat the word at her with so much venom she felt she had been hit in the chest—"if you think you can't handle this." He waited a long, tense moment. Tim continued to stand next to Chase, though he was bulkier than the former, he appeared to be much smaller. "Good."

"I have something to say," Avalon said, grabbing Chase's attention.

Chase sneered at her as he turned back around to face her. "If it has anything to do with how you went to the police you can forget it? I should blow your head clear off your shoulders for that."

"I only did that for my sister," Avalon protested in a strong voice. She was doing her best not to shake. Who knew how he was going to react to what she really wanted to ask. "But I have a wage for you that I think you'll be interested in."

Chase licked his lips, his eyes flashing and for a moment, Avalon didn't see a human with him. She saw the devil with its horns and sinister expressions. She had fallen so deep in to a life that was so bad for her and now that she was slowly making her way back out of it, she finally saw Chase for what he really was. Someone to stand on her shoulder and told her what to do and manipulated every faction of her life.

Now she was ready to keep him away from her as far as possible.

"I'll do whatever it is you want…no questions asked," she said slowly. Chase nodded, waving a hand, urging her to continue. "If you do something for me." Chase's eyebrow rose. "One, you make sure that the High-Flyers in Angel Grove Middle school stay away from my sister." Tim made a scoffing sound ad Chase held up a hand, cutting his off. "Two, you leave my friends alone, I know they had something to do with what happened to Jason and I'm not going to let that happen to the rest of them."

"And?" Chase pressed.

"If you do that…then I'll do whatever you need me for," Avalon insisted. She paused the perfect amount of time for Chase to start to sweat a little. "As long as when you're done with me, you'll let me leave the Vipers, no questions asked, no tracing, and no trying to bring me back." She licked her lips. "I do what you want, you let me leave."

Chase continued to watch her.

"Deal?"


	36. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

 

"Zordon we don't have much time left," Alpha said. His robotic voice was tinged with worry as he paced around the Command Center. "The power rangers need to gain complete control of their new powers soon or else we won't have a chance of saving Edenoi or Eltar." He made what sounded like a sniffing sound. "Who knows how long it'll take for Rita and Zedd to find the—"

"I know, Alpha, but there are many factors that are standing in our way," Zordon insisted. Alpha brought his hands up to his head as he continued to pace. "Don't despair, the power rangers are doing their best and at this point we have nothing to give them but our time and patience. With the power of the Ankylosaurus we, hopefully, will be able to hold them off for a while. Their use of the horoscope monsters has done a good job of keeping them busy."

Alpha shook his head. "I should have known there was something they were up to apart from their constant struggle against the rangers."

"It's not something we could have really seen coming," Zordon reassured him. "Rita and I have been in war for over 2,000 years and she has many tricks up her sleeve. There was only a matter of time until she or Zedd came up with something we couldn't have anticipated, no matter how prepared we were." He briefly closed his eyes. "We may have to reinforce the shields of the Command Center along with the zords as well as come up with something that will finally negate the stegosaurus zord back to its original state. The lack of the zord to help the rangers is going to become more evident as time goes on."

Alpha didn't say anything in reply. He continued to pace. He believed everything Zordon was telling him, the rangers could ultimately defeat Rita and Zedd. Yes, they were the first earth based set of rangers but they had done nothing but live up to his and Zordon's expectations whenever the time came. They did their best to protect those around them as well as their families and took on a burden of responsibility no teenager ever had to do. Hey gave up most of their personal and private lives to be at Zordon's and Alpha's beck and call and there was hardly a complaint from them. And while he and Zordon, admittedly still had some worries about Avalon being on the team, she was changing their minds as the days went on.

Still, it seemed that, with what Rita and Zedd were planning—all of the signs being there—they were going to be stuck in the fight of their lives.

And this time, instead of it being only for Earth, Zordon's and Alpha's home planets were hanging in the balance as well.

* * *

 

**THE END**


End file.
